Retribution say, at no time promoted (7)
I believe the answer is:
revenge
'retribution' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'say at no time promoted' is the wordplay.
'say' becomes 'eg'.
'at no time' becomes 'never' ('never' can be a synonym of 'at no time').
'promoted' says the letters should be written in reverse (going up, in a down clue).
'eg'+'never'='egnever'
'egnever' in reverse letter order is 'REVENGE'.
(Other definitions for revenge that I've seen before include "Satisfaction taken for injury" , "Retribution" , "Ship remembered in verse" , "Malicious retaliation" , "An eye for an eye" .)