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definitions

vengeance

[ ven-juhns ]
/ ˈvɛn dʒəns /
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR vengeance ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

infliction of injury, harm, humiliation, or the like, on a person by another who has been harmed by that person; violent revenge: But have you the right to vengeance?
an act or opportunity of inflicting such trouble: to take one's vengeance.
the desire for revenge: a man full of vengeance.
Obsolete. hurt; injury.
Obsolete. curse; imprecation.

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RELATED WORDS

retribution, revenge, reprisal, counterblow, return, wrath, vengefulness, requital, repayment

Nearby words

  1. venezia tridentina,
  2. veneziano, domenico,
  3. venezuela,
  4. venezuelan,
  5. venge,
  6. vengeful,
  7. vengefully,
  8. veni, vidi, vici,
  9. veni-,
  10. venial

Idioms

    with a vengeance,
    1. with force or violence.
    2. greatly; extremely.
    3. to an unreasonable, excessive, or surprising degree: He attacked the job with a vengeance.

Origin of vengeance

1250–1300; Middle English < Old French, equivalent to vengi(er) to avenge (see venge) + -ance -ance

Synonym study

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

Examples from the Web for vengeance

British Dictionary definitions for vengeance

vengeance

/ (ˈvɛndʒəns) /

noun

the act of or desire for taking revenge; retributive punishment
with a vengeance (intensifier)the 70's have returned with a vengeance

Word Origin for vengeance

C13: from Old French, from venger to avenge, from Latin vindicāre to punish; see vindicate
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 vengeance

vengeance

n.

c.1300, from Anglo-French vengeaunce, Old French vengeance "revenge," from vengier "take revenge," from Latin vindicare "to set free, claim, avenge" (see vindicate).

Vengeance is mine, ... saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink; for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head. [Paul to the Romans, xii:19-20]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with vengeance

vengeance

see with a vengeance.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.