1
retaliate against sb/sth
against 后接报复的对象；该动词常用作不及物，后面也可不带任何成分，直接说 retaliate。
The government retaliated against the neighboring country's trade restrictions.
政府对邻国的贸易限制进行了报复。
报复；回敬；以牙还牙
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
报复；回敬；以牙还牙
retaliate
The government retaliated against the neighboring country's trade restrictions.
政府对邻国的贸易限制进行了报复。
作不及物动词时常与 against 连用；作及物动词时表示回敬。
为报复某种伤害而做有害或负面的事；以同样方式反击或回应伤害或冒犯。
To do something harmful or negative to get revenge for some harm; to fight back or respond in kind to an injury or affront.
以同样行为回报或报答。
To repay or requite by an act of the same kind.
retaliate
Base
原形
retaliates
3rd person
第三人称单数
retaliating
-ing
现在分词
retaliated
Past
过去式
retaliated
Past participle
过去分词
She tends to retaliate when criticized.
她受到批评时往往会报复。
He retaliated by refusing to speak to them.
他以不跟他们说话来报复。
They have retaliated against the company's decision.
他们已经对公司的决定进行了报复。
retaliate 常作不及物动词，与 against 连用表示“对…进行报复”。
After their team scored, the opposing players decided to retaliate by playing more aggressively.
对方球队在失球后决定以更强硬的打法进行报复。
She felt insulted by the comment but chose not to retaliate with a harsh reply.
她觉得那句话侮辱了她，但选择不以刻薄的话回敬。
The company retaliated against its competitor by lowering prices temporarily.
该公司以临时降价来报复竞争对手。
against 后接报复的对象；该动词常用作不及物，后面也可不带任何成分，直接说 retaliate。
The government retaliated against the neighboring country's trade restrictions.
政府对邻国的贸易限制进行了报复。
by 后接动名词，说明报复的具体方式。
He retaliated by boycotting their products.
他以抵制他们的产品作为报复。
with 后接名词，表示报复所使用的手段；与 by doing sth 相比，with 更强调工具或具体措施。
The army retaliated with an air strike.
军方以空袭作为报复。
Not this
He retaliated his critic with a harsh reply.
Use this
He retaliated against his critic with a harsh reply.
retaliate 是不及物动词，表示“报复某人”时须加介词 against，不能像汉语“报复”那样直接带宾语。
Not this
She retaliated to the insult by writing a sharp email.
Use this
She retaliated for the insult by writing a sharp email.
表示“因某事报复”时，缘由用介词 for 引出，不能用 to；to 不表示报复的原因。
Not this
The team retaliated back by scoring two goals.
Use this
The team retaliated by scoring two goals.
retaliate 本身就含“回击”的意思，再加 back 属于语义重复，应该删去 back。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
对某人进行报复
She waited for the right moment to retaliate against her critics.
她等待合适的时机对批评者进行报复。
以同样的方式报复
The players were told not to retaliate in kind when the opponents provoked them.
球员们被告知，当对手挑衅时不要以同样的方式报复。
通过做某事进行报复
The company retaliated by cutting his salary.
公司通过削减他的工资进行报复。
威胁要进行报复
North Korea threatened to retaliate if the sanctions were not lifted.
朝鲜威胁说，如果制裁不解除，将进行报复。
用某事物进行报复
The director retaliated with a defamation lawsuit.
这位导演以诽谤诉讼进行报复。
以牙还牙，以同样的方式报复
After the competitor slashed prices, the company retaliated in kind.
在竞争对手大幅降价之后，该公司以牙还牙。
猛烈报复，疯狂反击
The boxer retaliated with a vengeance in the final round.
这名拳击手在最后一轮猛烈反击。
Use retaliate naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
记忆联想：被人打后“re-”再来一拳（tali≈打），即“报复、回敬”。注意是还击，不是先动手。
语域：formal 常见场景：新闻报道、官方声明、正式讨论 retaliate 通常用于正式或书面语境，比较常见于新闻报道、官方声明和法律/政治讨论中；日常对话中较少使用。
Late, relate and translate rhyme with one another (stressed /leɪt/), but they do not rhyme with retaliate, whose main stress is on the second syllable: /rɪˈtælieɪt/. Communicate has a different final /keɪt/. Negotiate and appreciate share the '-iate' spelling but end in /ʃieɪt/, whereas retaliate ends in /lieɪt/, so they are useful lookalikes with a warning: do not pronounce the 'ti' in retaliate as /ʃ/.
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.