revenge

English

Etymology

From Middle French revenge, a derivation from revenger, from Old French revengier (possibly influenced by Old Occitan revènge (revenge, comeback), from Old Occitan revenir (to come back)), a variant of Middle French revancher, from Old French revenchier. The variants Old French vengier (whence French venger) and Old French venchier are both descended from Latin vindicō, with stress-conditioned different parallel development in the inflectional forms. Compare avenge and vengeance.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɹɪˈvɛndʒ/
  • Hyphenation: re‧venge
  • (file)

Noun

revenge (usually uncountable, plural revenges)

  1. Any form of personal retaliatory action against an individual, institution, or group for some perceived harm or injustice.
    Indifference is the sweetest revenge.
    When I left my wife, she tried to set fire to the house in revenge.
  2. (competition) A win by the previous loser.
    • 1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, chapter I, in Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, OCLC 731476803:
      “I'm through with all pawn-games,” I laughed. “Come, let us have a game of lansquenet. Either I will take a farewell fall out of you or you will have your sevenfold revenge”.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

revenge (third-person singular simple present revenges, present participle revenging, simple past and past participle revenged)

  1. (reflexive) To take one's revenge (on or upon) someone.
    • Shakespeare
      Come, Antony, and young Octavius, come, / Revenge yourselves alone on Cassius.
  2. (transitive) To take revenge for (a particular harmful action) or on behalf of (its victim); to avenge.
    • Ld. Berners
      to revenge the death of our fathers
    • Dryden
      The gods are just, and will revenge our cause.
    Arsenal revenged its loss to Manchester United last time with a 5-0 drubbing this time.
  3. (intransitive, archaic) To take vengeance; to revenge itself.
    • Shakespeare
      A bird that will revenge upon you all.

Translations

See also

Anagrams

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