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revengeful
[ ri-venj-fuhl ]
adjective
- determined to have revenge; vindictive.
Synonyms: malignant, malicious, malevolent
Antonyms: forgiving
revengeful
/ rɪˈvɛndʒfʊl /
adjective
- full of or characterized by desire for vengeance; vindictive
Derived Forms
- reˈvengefully, adverb
- reˈvengefulness, noun
Other Words From
- re·vengeful·ly adverb
- re·vengeful·ness noun
- unre·vengeful adjective
- unre·vengeful·ly adverb
- unre·vengeful·ness noun
Word History and Origins
Origin of revengeful1
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
She would later say in a court filing that this argument was the source of his “revengeful false reporting.”
Civil Service Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt, in a letter to his sister, said of the revengeful violence, “Personally, I think it a rather good thing.”
In many another story, too, she is fierce and revengeful.
One colonial historian wrote that the Coromantee were “hardy, laborious, and manageable under mild and just treatment,” but warned that they were “fierce, violent, and revengeful under injury and provocation.”
In her diary, Morgan called him “unduly revengeful,” and the superintendent of Hearst’s ranch said that Rossi “seemed to glory in human misery.”
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More About Revengeful
What does revengeful mean?
Revengeful is used to describe someone who is determined to get revenge—retaliation against or punishment of someone for some kind of harm that they caused or wrongdoing that they did (whether real or perceived).
Revengeful also means inclined to seek revenge. The adjective vindictive is a close synonym. A more commonly used synonym is vengeful.
Revengeful can be used to describe people or their actions.
Revenge often involves an attempt to get even by inflicting similar harm to the person who initially harmed the person seeking revenge. Revenge has several other synonyms that each have different shades of meaning, including retribution, retaliation, and reprisal. But more than these words, revenge implies that such retaliation is personal and motivated by a deep anger and perhaps an obsessive desire to get even. This is usually what it means when someone is described as revengeful.
Example: Being revengeful does more damage to you than to the person you are intent on destroying.
Where does revengeful come from?
The first records of the word revengeful come from the late 1500s. Its base word, revenge, comes from the Old French revenger, from the Late Latin revindicāre, from the Latin verb vindicāre, meaning “to protect,” “to avenge,” or “to punish.” The words vengeance, avenge, vindicate, and vindictive are all based on the same root. The re- in revenge and synonyms like retribution, retaliation, and reprisal indicates that these things are done in response or reaction to another action.
People who are described as revengeful are often those who are inclined to seek revenge no matter how small the harm or slight is to begin with. The word often implies that such a person is petty and can’t stand to lose or be treated in a negative way without doing something to get even.
Did you know ... ?
What are some other forms related to revengeful?
- revenge (noun, verb)
What are some synonyms for revengeful?
What are some words that share a root or word element with revengeful?
What are some words that often get used in discussing revengeful?
How is revengeful used in real life?
Revengeful is not commonly used. The words vindictive and vengeful mean the same thing and are more commonly used.
I don’t have a spiteful or revengeful bone in my body and I’m grateful for that
— AkuaLove (@riichlove) November 16, 2020
I don't get how some people can be so revengeful and hateful. How can you feel okay with yourself after you destroy someone else?
— Chan (@ChanningMears) September 5, 2016
i used to be so revengeful that it consumed me
— Jaylan W. (@yajwoods) February 7, 2017
Try using revengeful!
Which of the following words is a synonym of revengeful?
A. vengeful
B. vindictive
C. retaliatory
D. all of the above
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