vindictiveness

American  

[vin-dik-tiv-nis] / vɪnˈdɪk tɪv nɪs /

noun

1. a vengeful character or quality; a spirit of revenge.

   Grudges, vindictiveness, jealousies, and so on are part of being human, but must be separated from hiring decisions.

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Other Word Forms

• unvindictiveness noun

Etymology

Origin of vindictiveness

vindictive ( def. ) + -ness ( def. )

Example Sentences

He extensively quotes both men's social media posts to "get a full sense of the madness," arguing they're both being consumed by their tendencies "to grandiosity, vindictiveness and paranoia."

From Salon • Mar. 13, 2025

“It is not prosecutorial vindictiveness to continue a case after a deal has been rejected,” McCrae writes.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 28, 2023

So outsource that vindictiveness to a towing company that deals with it all the time.

From Slate • Dec. 27, 2022

Perhaps framing it this way is what has allowed Louis to write so compassionately about them, with a lack of vindictiveness readers might otherwise find miraculous.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 11, 2022

This vindictiveness was urged on by men in high places who resented the President’s spirit of clemency as violently as they resented the tenacity of the South.

From "Across Five Aprils" by Irene Hunt