penalty vs retribution

penalty and retribution both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
penalty	Yes	No	No	No
retribution	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, retribution is a hyponym of penalty; that is, retribution is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than penalty:

Other hyponyms of penalty include requital, forfeit, forfeiture, amercement, fine, mulct.

penalty (noun)	retribution (noun)
the act of punishing, or the infliction of a penalty	the act of correcting for your wrongdoing
the disadvantage or painful consequences of an action or condition	the act of taking revenge (harming someone in retaliation for something harmful that they have done) especially in the next life
(games) a handicap or disadvantage that is imposed on a competitor (or a team) for an infraction of the rules of the game	a justly deserved penalty
a payment required for not fulfilling a contract