avenge

[ uh-venj ]

/ əˈvɛndʒ /

verb (used with object), a·venged, a·veng·ing.

to take vengeance or exact satisfaction for: to avenge a grave insult.

to take vengeance on behalf of: He avenged his brother.

RELATED WORDS

nemesis, vindicator

Nearby words

Origin of avenge

1325–75; Middle English avengen < Old French avengier, equivalent to a- a-⁵ + vengier < Latin vindicāre; see vindicate

SYNONYMS FOR avenge

vindicate.

ANTONYMS FOR avenge

1. forgive.

Related forms

a·venge·ful, adjectivea·veng·er, nouna·veng·ing·ly, adverbun·a·venged, adjective

un·a·veng·ing, adjectiveun·a·veng·ing·ly, adverb

Synonym study

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.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for avengers

Crystal is a onetime member of the Avengers, and in various storylines is also married to Quicksilver.
Inside Marvel’s Phase 3: How ‘The Avengers’ Cross Paths with Black Panther and the New Superheroes|Marlow Stern|October 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Eventually, the Avengers team up with Thanos to do battle with the Magus.
Inside Marvel’s Phase 3: How ‘The Avengers’ Cross Paths with Black Panther and the New Superheroes|Marlow Stern|October 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Avengers, despite its overall gross, only earned back 690 percent of its total budget.
Marvel and DC Plan 20 Movies for the Next Six Years: Will the Comic Book Movie Bubble Burst?|Rich Goldstein|October 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There are a lot more scenes of the entire Avengers gang together—both in and out of the cape, so to speak.
Jeremy Renner Opens Up About Marriage, His Problems with the Media, and the Future of Hawk-Eye|Marlow Stern|September 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST

For me, I signed on to The Avengers 1-3 and then Hawk-Eye, in case they want to do a Hawk-Eye spin-off.
Jeremy Renner Opens Up About Marriage, His Problems with the Media, and the Future of Hawk-Eye|Marlow Stern|September 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A moment later Douglas was shaking hands with his rescuers, who had so nearly escaped being merely his avengers.
Under the Chilian Flag|Harry Collingwood
Here the avengers catch him in a peculiar net which he had invented for the destruction of others.
The Danes in Lancashire and Yorkshire|S. W. Partington
He knew that the avengers were on his track, and he cared not to see the face of a Texan at that time.
Life and adventures of Frank and Jesse James|J. A. Dacus
They knew that, as was the custom of our people, they as the nearest relatives were the avengers of blood.
Three Boys in the Wild North Land|Egerton Ryerson Young
Bruised and sore, the avengers had again obeyed her without much protest.
Marjorie Dean, College Sophomore|Pauline Lester

British Dictionary definitions for avengers

avenge

/ (əˈvɛndʒ) /

verb

(usually tr) to inflict a punishment in retaliation for (harm, injury, etc) done to (a person or persons); take revenge for or on behalf ofto avenge a crime; to avenge a murdered friend

Derived Formsavenger, noun

Word Origin for avenge

C14: from Old French avengier, from vengier, from Latin vindicāre; see vengeance, vindicate

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for avengers

avenge

late 14c., from Anglo-French avenger, Old French avengier, from a- "to" (see ad-) + vengier "take revenge" (Modern French venger), from Latin vindicare "to claim, avenge, punish" (see vindicate). Related: Avenged; avenging.