vendetta
Americannoun
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vendettas
plural
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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.
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any prolonged and bitter feud, rivalry, contention, or the like.
a political vendetta.
noun
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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
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any prolonged feud, quarrel, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of vendetta
First recorded in 1850–55; from Italian, from Latin vindicta “vengeance”; see vindictive
Explanation
A vendetta is blood feud, a quest for revenge. A vendetta might separate families for generations, with members of one family murdering those of the other, all to satisfy an ancient grudge. If a friend of yours breaks into your locker and fills it with crumpled up newspaper, you will not be able to hold your head up until you have carried out a vendetta. Perhaps you can tie his shoes together during French class without his noticing?
Vocabulary lists containing vendetta
100 SAT Words Beginning with "V"
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2015 Spelling Bee - Words from Round 2
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Challenge, List 5
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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.
See Examples For:
"No member of parliament with me will use this institution for a personal vendetta", Sonko said, speaking in Wolof.
From Barron's ● May 26, 2026
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
One of the officers involved told those investigating the complaint that Tewson, 32, had developed a "personal vendetta" against them.
From BBC ● Feb. 3, 2026
He re-teamed with Pollack in “Jeremiah Johnson,” in which he played a mountain man who becomes the object of a vendetta.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2025
Adams responded with uncharacteristic calmness to this personal vendetta.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
Some of his extracurricular fixations—personal vendettas, online foolery—could get less attention.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 4, 2026
Financing statements — meant to record legitimate business liens — are now a vehicle for conspiracy-laced claims, trillion-dollar demands and vendettas against politicians, businesses and public employees.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 6, 2026
But there is a Venn diagram to his vendettas, an overlap in his circle of obsessions.
From Salon ● Nov. 10, 2025
Bhutto-Zardari, 35, has vowed to end the personal vendettas that characterize Pakistan’s politics and has also urged for investment in climate resilience as a key to the nation’s survival.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 5, 2024
"There are American vendettas," said the priest impassively.
From The Innocence of Father Brown by G. K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton
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.
