tit for tat
Equivalent retaliation
Tit for tat is retaliation in kind—returning like for like, especially an injury or slight with an equivalent response.
The phrase suggests measured reciprocity rather than escalation: Their feud became a tit-for-tat exchange of petty insults.
In game theory, tit for tat names a strategy of cooperating first, then mirroring whatever the other player does.
Retaliation for wrongs
- revengePunishing a wrongdoer
- reprisalPunitive action in return
- retributionPunishment for wrongdoing
- vengeanceRetaliation for injury
counterattack · comeuppance · requital · an eye for an eye · getting even · settling scores · backlash · counterstrike
Reciprocal exchange of value
- give-and-takeMutual concession between parties
- exchangeMutual giving and receiving
- mutualityShared dependence or exchange
- equivalenceState of being equal
back-and-forth · parity · balance · symmetry · interchange · correspondence · trade · barter
payback
Retaliation for wrongs
- revengePunishing a wrongdoer
- reprisalPunitive action in return
- retributionPunishment for wrongdoing
vengeance · counterattack · comeuppance · requital · an eye for an eye · getting even · settling scores · backlash · counterstrike · redress
quid pro quo
Reciprocal exchange of value
- give-and-takeMutual concession between parties
- exchangeMutual giving and receiving
- mutualityShared dependence or exchange
equivalence · back-and-forth · parity · balance · symmetry · interchange · correspondence · trade · barter · reciprocal
- Exchangeexchange, barter, swap, trade-in, trade-off
- idiomstime flies, hit the sack, seize the day, ring a bell, break a leg
- Negotiation Termsdeadlock, bargaining, negotiation, stalemate, compromise
- transactional termsquid pro quo, exchange, trade, deal, bargain
- turn the tablesrevenge, payback, comeback, retaliation, counterattack
- vengeancerevenge, vengeance, vendetta, retribution, retaliation
tit for tatforgiveness
Releasing resentment toward offenders
grace · mercy · absolution · forgive and forget · clemency
tit for tatnonretaliation
Abstaining from revenge
nonresistance · letting it go · appeasement · walking away · forbearance
tit for tataltruism
Prioritizing others' wellbeing
selflessness · no strings attached · paying it forward · charity · magnanimity
tit, tat, tits, tit-for-tat