verb
Usage
The use of avenge with a reflexive pronoun was formerly considered incorrect, but is now acceptable: she avenged herself on the man who killed her daughter
Related Words
Avenge, revenge both imply to inflict pain or harm in return for pain or harm inflicted on oneself or those persons or causes to which one feels loyalty. The two words were formerly interchangeable, but have been differentiated until they now convey widely diverse ideas. Avenge is now restricted to inflicting punishment as an act of retributive justice or as a vindication of propriety: to avenge a murder by bringing the criminal to trial. Revenge implies inflicting pain or harm to retaliate for real or fancied wrongs; a reflexive pronoun is often used with this verb: Iago wished to revenge himself upon Othello.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of avenge
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English avengen, from Old French avengier, equivalent to a- prefix meaning “toward, increase” ( see a- 5) + vengier, from Latin vindicāre; see vindicate
Explanation
If you avenge your father's death by killing his murderer (thereby taking revenge for the crime), there is a good chance you'll end up in jail, if you're caught. Many movie plots center on a character who seeks to avenge an injury of some kind. Whether it be Simba in "The Lion King," who wants to avenge his father's death, or Erin Brockovich, who seeks to avenge the suffering caused by a crooked and polluting California power company. One trick to remembering the word is that it's similar to the word revenge, which is the thing you're going for when you're seeking to avenge a bad deed. Watch for the venge in both words, and you'll know you're in the right department.
Vocabulary lists containing avenge
100 SAT Words Beginning with "A"
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"The Cask of Amontillado"
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Beowulf vocabulary
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
One photo shows the words "Avenge Yehuda" spray-painted onto a building.
From BBC • Mar. 22, 2026
Lady Eli returned $3.20 and $2.80, while Avenge was another length back in third and paid $7.40 to show.
From Washington Times • Nov. 5, 2016
Avenge went wire to wire for trainer Richard Mandella.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 1, 2016
JS: Didn’t they Avenge something two summers ago?
From Slate • May 1, 2015
“If I could find the route...the way home, then perhaps—But, no. Avenge me or leave me. You are no child of mine.”
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
