vindictive
Americanadjective
-
disposed or inclined to revenge; vengeful.
a vindictive person.
- Synonyms:
- unforgiving
- Antonyms:
- forgiving
-
proceeding from or showing a revengeful spirit.
vindictive rumors.
adjective
-
disposed to seek vengeance
-
characterized by spite or rancour
-
English law (of damages) in excess of the compensation due to the plaintiff and imposed in punishment of the defendant
Usage
What does vindictive mean? Vindictive is usually used to describe someone who’s known for frequently seeking revenge. It can also be used to describe the vengeful actions of such a person. A person described as vindictive is usually someone who holds a grudge and who always tries to get back at people who they think have wronged them in some way. Vindictive people retaliate against others for any insult or perceived slight. Vindictive people do not let things go. The word is always used negatively to imply criticism of such people or actions. Example: I’ve never seen someone so vindictive—he’s obsessed with getting back at everyone who has ever slighted him, even when it happened years ago.
Synonym Usage
See spiteful.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of vindictive
First recorded in 1610–20; from Latin vindict(a) “vengeance” + -ive
Explanation
It is no fun hanging out with vindictive people, who are forever out to get back at people they think have hurt them. If you forget to say hello to them one day in the hall, they will carry a grudge against you into next week. Vindictive is often paired with mean, as in "the atmosphere of the cheerleading squad at my new school was vindictive and mean and I wanted nothing to do with it." Vindictive rumors show a spirit full of revenge. Vindictive is from Latin vindicta "revenge." The related Latin verb vindicare has the very different meaning "to defend or clear someone from guilt," and this is the source of the English verb vindicate.
Vocabulary lists containing vindictive
The Crucible
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You Can Say That Again: Dic and Dict
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Grade 9, List 4
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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.
After the veteran argued he was the victim of a vindictive prosecution, Boasberg allowed for an inquiry into whether the case was rooted in punishing him for constitutionally protected speech.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026
All would be lost, however, without Mays’ quicksilver brilliance — the way he can shift from savage irony to vindictive rage to godless despair in the space of a line.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 18, 2026
Human Rights Watch called the verdict "cruel and vindictive", as well as an "alarming act of collective punishment".
From Barron's • Feb. 11, 2026
Eventually, Dokoupil hastily caught up with the teleprompter midsentence, rattling off the many vindictive debasements that Pete Hegseth is wielding against Kelly.
From Slate • Jan. 6, 2026
“Gerremoffme!” he yelled, but with one last look of vindictive fury, Hermione wrenched open the door and disappeared through it.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
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.
