RETALIA'TION, noun 1. The return of like for like; the doing that to another which he has done to us; requital of evil. 2. In a good sense, return of good for good. God takes what is done to others as done to himself, and by promise obliges himself to full retaliation [This, according to modern usage, is harsh.]
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI