Reciprocate with negative connotations [closed]

What is the negative of reciprocate? I need a word which means reciprocate but has negative connotations.

I searched its antonyms but they didn't help me. Merriam Webster says requite, repay and recompense but they don't convey the meaning I want them to convey.

Solution 1:

You might want to use retaliate.

Retaliating means when someone does something bad to you and you in turn do the same to them.

Example: When someone downvotes your post and you in turn downvote their post, that's called retaliating.

If you retaliate when someone harms or annoys you, you do something which harms or annoys them in return. [Collins Dictionary]