
Retaliate
Emotional Response
Retaliate implies a personal reaction to being wronged, often driven by emotions.

When insulted, he retaliated with a scathing comeback.
Expect Negative Act
The action taken to retaliate is normally viewed as negative and rarely constructive.

The company retaliated against the false claims by suing the accuser.
Immediate Reaction
Retaliation often suggests an immediate or direct response to some provocation.

After the prank, she retaliated by hiding his phone.
Compare with
Even the scorePaybackRevengeStrike back
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