/ rɪˈpraɪzl; NAmE / noun
[ C , U ] a violent or aggressive act towards sb because of sth bad that they have done towards you
SYN retaliation :
They did not want to give evidence for fear of reprisals.
They shot ten hostages in reprisal for the assassination of their leader.
••
WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English : from Anglo-Norman French reprisaille , from medieval Latin reprisalia (neuter plural), based on Latin repraehens- seized, from the verb repraehendere seize, check, rebuke, from re- (expressing intensive force) + prehendere seize. The current sense dates from the early 18th cent.