reprisal
/ɹɪˈpɹaɪzəl/noun
reprisal is spelled R-E-P-R-I-S-A-L: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,063rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, reprisal means “An act of retaliation” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of reprisal is reprisals.
How many letters and syllables are in reprisal?
| Letters | 8: R-E-P-R-I-S-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 34,063rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is reprisal?
Reprisal appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,063rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce reprisal?
- /ɹɪˈpɹaɪzəl/
Reprisal has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-reprisal.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of reprisal
- reprisals plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does reprisal mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An act of retaliation.
- 2
archaicSomething taken from an enemy in retaliation.
- 3
archaicThe act of taking something from an enemy by way of retaliation or indemnity.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Reprisal in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense retaliation:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | représailles |
| German | Vergeltungsmaßnahme, Repressalie, Vergeltungsschlag, Vergeltungsakt |
| Spanish | represalia |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does reprisal come from?
From Anglo-Norman reprisaille (French représaille), from Old Italian ripresaglia (Italian rappresaglia), from ripreso, past participle of riprendere (“to take back”), from Latin reprendere, earlier reprehendere (see reprehend).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).