revenge

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.

• IPA^(key): /ɹəˈvɛnd͡ʒ/, /ɹɪˈvɛnd͡ʒ/, /ɹiˈvɛnd͡ʒ/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ɹəˈvendʒ/

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• Hyphenation: re‧venge

revenge (usually uncountable, plural revenges)

1. Any form of personal, retaliatory action against an individual, institution, or group for some alleged or perceived harm or injustice.

   Synonyms: payback, wreak; see also Thesaurus:revenge

   Indifference is the sweetest revenge.

   When I left my wife, she tried to set fire to the house in revenge.

2. A win by a 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”.

• → Japanese: リベンジ

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

1. (transitive) To take revenge for (a particular harmful action) or on behalf of (its victim); to avenge.

   Arsenal revenged their loss to Manchester United last time with a 5–0 drubbing this time.

   • 1697, Virgil, “The First Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], OCLC 403869432:

     The gods are just, and will revenge our cause.

   • 1814, Lord Berners, The Ancient Chronicles of Sir John Froissart

     to revenge the death of our fathers

   • circa 1840, Leigh Hunt, The Seer; Or, Common-places Refreshed

     However, my veneration for that illustrious man was so great, that on the night when he died, I revenged him finely on his two principal enemies.

2. (transitive, reflexive) To take one's revenge (on or upon someone).
   • 1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act IV, scene iii]:

     Come, Antony, and young Octavius, come,
     Revenge yourselves alone on Cassius.

3. (intransitive, archaic) To take vengeance; to revenge itself.
   • c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene iv]:

     a bird that will revenge upon you all

   • 1814, Dante Alighieri, “Canto VII”, in H[enry] F[rancis] Cary, transl., The Vision; or, Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise, of Dante Alighieri. [...] In Three Volumes, volume III (Paradise), London: […] [J. Barfield] for Taylor and Hessey, […], OCLC 559008226, lines 45–47, page 30:

     Count it not hard henceforth, when thou dost hear
     That a just vengeance was by righteous court
     Justly reveng'd. […]

• vendetta
• avenge
• venge
• vengeance
• get one's own back
• get back at somebody
• retaliate

• genever