revenge Hear it!

revenge Definition

re·venge (ri venj′)

transitive verb -·venged′, -·veng′·ing

  1. to inflict damage, injury, or punishment in return for (an injury, insult, etc.); retaliate for
  2. to take vengeance in behalf of (a person, oneself, etc.); avenge

Etymology: ME revengen < OFr revenger < re-, again + vengier, to take vengeance < L vindicare: see vindicate

intransitive verb

Obsolete to take vengeance

noun

  1. the act of revenging; vengeance
  2. what is done in revenging
  3. desire to take vengeance; vindictive spirit
  4. a chance to retaliate or get satisfaction, as by a return match after a defeat

revenge Related Forms

re·veng′er noun re·veng′·ingly adverb

revenge Idioms

be revenged

to get revenge

revenge Synonyms

revenge

n.

  1. The act of returning an injury

    vengeance, requital, reprisal, getting even, measure for measure, an eye for an eye, blow for blow, tit for tat, repayment, return of evil for evil, counterattack, sortie, counterinsurgency, retaliation, retribution, avenging, paying back, settling accounts; see also attack 1.

    Antonyms pardon*, forgiveness*, excusing.

  2. The desire to obtain revenge

    vindictiveness, rancor, implacability, ruthlessness, malevolence, vengefulness, spitefulness, ill-will, animus, vendetta; see also hate, malice.

revenge Synonyms

revenge

v.

avenge, retaliate, vindicate, requite, get even with, take revenge, have one's revenge, breathe vengeance, wreak one's vengeance, exact retribution, pay back, pay off, make reprisal, punish, repay, repay in kind, return like for like, return blow for blow, give tit for tat, reciprocate, settle accounts, square accounts, settle up, pay back in one's own coin, take an eye for an eye, turn the tables on, get back at, fight back, be out for blood, give an exchange, give and take, give someone their just deserts, get satisfaction, even the score, get*, fix*, give someone their comeuppance*, pay off old scores*, settle a score*, return the compliment*, pay back in spades*, fix one's wagon*, give a taste of one's own medicine*, give as good as one gets*.

Antonyms forgive*, condone*, pardon.

revenge implies the infliction of punishment as an act of retaliation, usually for an injury against oneself, and connotes personal malice, bitter resentment, or vindictive spirit as the moving force; avenge implies the infliction of deserved or just punishment for wrongs or oppression

revenge Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • vow: Her eldest son is sacrificed by Titus; she vows revenge.
  • swear: Having followed her to the house Tommy swears revenge upon the pair.
  • seek: Is the murderer really seeking revenge from beyond the grave?
  • exact: He often vowed to himself that he would exact no ordinary revenge.
  • want: My old self rose to the occasion: I wanted revenge!

Preposition: for

  • defeat: In Netball the 1st team will be seeking revenge for the single point defeat at the hands of Sheffield Hallam.
  • killing: It is believed that this was a planned assassination in revenge for the killing of Jack Harris.
  • murder: While these could never be directly tied back to the government they were widely seen as the revenge for the murder of Neave.

Adjective modifier

  • exact: Joan lets Lou in to see Reb in solitary to exact revenge for the attack on Joyce.
  • murderous: What emerges is a tale of misspent fortunes and murderous revenge among the crumbling ruins of an old film set.
  • sweet: Despite the loss, the Lancaster teams all enjoyed the trip away, and are looking forward to taking sweet revenge next May... .
  • bloody: The recent Bosnian civil war saw bloody revenge by the Serbs on Croatia.
  • terrible: Amidst the wreckage of a defeated army, in the storm lashed hills of the Portuguese frontier, Sharpe takes a terrible revenge.
  • petty: Without Blair, Chirac will remain exposed to all sorts of petty revenge by American hawks.

Modifies a noun

  • killing: The villagers kept their children away from him, so it looks as if this a revenge killing.
  • tragedy: It is unclear how Simkin would limit the parameters of the revenge tragedy genre, if at all.
  • fantasy: Author enters revenge fantasy, in which Postal Employe is sealed in plastic envelope and sent Priority Mail to the bottom of the sea.
  • motif: The revenge motif appears to start when Thun and his girlfriend Jane think they have run over a young woman in their car.
  • attack: Of course, " there was no evidence it was a revenge attack " according to a US army source.