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Showing results for vendetta.
Synonyms

vendetta

American  
[ven-det-uh] / vɛnˈdɛt ə /

noun

  1. a private feud in which the members of the family of a murdered person seek to avenge the murder by killing the slayer or one of the slayer's relatives, especially such vengeance as once practiced in Corsica and parts of Italy.

  2. any prolonged and bitter feud, rivalry, contention, or the like.

    a political vendetta.
vendetta British  
/ vɛnˈdɛtə /

noun

  1. a private feud, originally between Corsican or Sicilian families, in which the relatives of a murdered person seek vengeance by killing the murderer or some member of his family

  2. any prolonged feud, quarrel, etc

"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

Other Word Forms

  • vendettist noun

Etymology

Origin of vendetta

First recorded in 1850–55; from Italian, from Latin vindicta “vengeance”; vindictive

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.

A vendetta between the billionaire founders of Two Sigma Investments flared up last month, prompting a new leadership battle at their $70 billion hedge-fund firm.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

Erik Charlotte VonSosen opens up about her designing process, drag culture’s influence on her work and her vendetta against Pinterest.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 18, 2025

Betro, a childhood development and graphic design graduate from the US city of West Allis, arrived in the UK in August 2019 to carry out Aslam and Nazir's vendetta.

From BBC • Aug. 12, 2025

I don't think he, like has a personal vendetta, for Puerto Rico.”

From Salon • Mar. 16, 2025

Apparently Adolf Hitler has a vendetta against tobacco, finds it filthy and disgusting, and his military police and their assistants are not meant to smoke at work.

From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein

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.