vendetta

C1 Topic:Crime & Justice

US /vɛnˈdɛt.ə/ UK /venˈdet.ə/ See IPA manual

Freq #15713

Meanings

1

noun
a prolonged and often violent feud in which a family, clan, or group seeks revenge for previous injuries or killings

The two families ended a vendetta that had lasted for three generations.
2

noun
a sustained personal campaign motivated by resentment or a desire for revenge

The prosecutor denied that the investigation was a personal vendetta.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a prolonged and often... blood feudfeudcycle of revenge

2 noun · a sustained personal... grudgecampaign of revengescore-settling

Opposites

reconciliation truce forgiveness

Word family

Forms vendettas

Derived forms vendettist

Related forms vengeance revenge vindicate retaliation

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian vendetta, 'revenge' or 'blood feud,' from Latin vindicta, 'vengeance, punishment, or legal claim,' related to vindicare, 'to claim, avenge, or punish.' English first emphasized interfamily blood feuds and later broadened to personal campaigns of hostility.

Topics

Crime & Justice

External links

# vendetta

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /vɛnˈdɛt.ə/
**IPA (UK):** /venˈdet.ə/
**Frequency rank:** 15713

## Meanings
1. a prolonged and often violent feud in which a family, clan, or group seeks revenge for previous injuries or killings
2. a sustained personal campaign motivated by resentment or a desire for revenge

## Examples
- The two families ended a vendetta that had lasted for three generations.
- The prosecutor denied that the investigation was a personal vendetta.

## Synonyms
- blood feud
- feud
- grudge
- campaign of revenge

## Antonyms
- reconciliation
- truce
- forgiveness

## Derived Forms
- vendettist

## Related Forms
- vengeance
- revenge
- vindicate
- retaliation

## Etymology
Borrowed from Italian vendetta, 'revenge' or 'blood feud,' from Latin vindicta, 'vengeance, punishment, or legal claim,' related to vindicare, 'to claim, avenge, or punish.' English first emphasized interfamily blood feuds and later broadened to personal campaigns of hostility.

## Topics
- Crime & Justice

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