vengeance

C2+ Topic:Health & Medicine

US /ˈvɛndʒəns/ UK /ˈvɛndʒəns/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
punishment inflicted in retaliation for an injury or offense

He swore vengeance against those who had wronged his family.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · punishment inflicted in... revenge retribution retaliation reprisal requital

Opposites

forgiveness mercy pardon clemency

Word family

Derived forms vengeful

Related forms avenge revenge vindicate

Appears in

Idioms (1)

See all

with a vengeance
with unexpectedly great force, energy, or intensity

Proverbs (1)

See all

Vengeance is mine

Etymology

From Old French 'vengeance', from 'vengier' ('to avenge'), from Latin 'vindicare' ('to claim, avenge, punish'), from 'vindex' ('claimant, avenger').

vengeance Old French vindicare Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Health & Medicine

External links

# vengeance

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈvɛndʒəns/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈvɛndʒəns/

## Meanings
1. punishment inflicted in retaliation for an injury or offense

## Examples
- He swore vengeance against those who had wronged his family.

## Synonyms
- revenge
- retribution
- retaliation
- reprisal
- requital

## Antonyms
- forgiveness
- mercy
- pardon
- clemency

## Derived Forms
- vengeful

## Related Forms
- avenge
- revenge
- vindicate

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: vengeance
- Root: vindicare

## Etymology
From Old French 'vengeance', from 'vengier' ('to avenge'), from Latin 'vindicare' ('to claim, avenge, punish'), from 'vindex' ('claimant, avenger').

## AI Etymology
Vengeance comes from Old French 'vengeance', from 'vengier' ('to avenge'), from Latin 'vindicare' ('to claim, avenge, punish'), from 'vindex' ('claimant, avenger'). In current use it is a noun meaning "punishment inflicted in retaliation for an injury or offense". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The history is mainly one of transmission into English, with the older form and sense carried through borrowing or adaptation. The historical chain includes Old French vengeance and Latin vindicare. Related English forms include avenge, revenge, and vindicate. A derived form is vengeful. For dictionary purposes, the important point is the continuity between the older form, the route into English, and the present lexical sense.

## Topics
- Health & Medicine

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