vindictiveness

American  

[vin-dik-tiv-nis] / vɪnˈdɪk tɪv nɪs /

noun

1. a vengeful character or quality; a spirit of revenge.

   Grudges, vindictiveness, jealousies, and so on are part of being human, but must be separated from hiring decisions.

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Other Word Forms

• unvindictiveness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of vindictiveness

vindictive ( def. ) + -ness ( def. )

Explanation

Vindictiveness is a strong desire to get back at someone. People who hold grudges and seek revenge are full of vindictiveness. If someone steps on your toe, and you put on boots to stomp back, you’re full of vindictiveness. Use the noun vindictiveness to describe the need for vengeance, or the urge to retaliate against someone who's done you wrong. If you can’t let go of the anger that comes from being mistreated or hurt and you’re plotting revenge, you’re full vindictiveness. At the heart of vindictiveness is the Latin root word vindicta, which means "revenge."

Example Sentences

"There is a sort of public vindictiveness directed against them," one of the three lawyers, Yaël Hayat, said.

From BBC • Jan. 19, 2026

But Baitz extensively invests in writing to one layer of these women’s interiority without convincing us that there's more to them than their vindictiveness, prejudice or selfishness.

From Salon • Jan. 31, 2024

Your mother-in-law is gone, so don’t let her vindictiveness poison your husband and his brother’s relationship from beyond the grave.

From Slate • Oct. 31, 2022

But that vindictiveness seems to retreat — or is it deepening? — when Peter returns from school to visit his mother and, against all odds, begins to forge an odd kinship with his former tormenter.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 16, 2021

This vindictiveness was urged on by men in high places who resented the President’s spirit of clemency as violently as they resented the tenacity of the South.

From "Across Five Aprils" by Irene Hunt