noun
vengeance
VEHN-juhns
noun
1
Punishment inflicted in return for a wrong or injury; revenge.
"He swore vengeance on the men who had betrayed him."
"The film is a story of vengeance stretching across two decades."
How to Use Vengeance
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishGetting back at someone for a wrong done to you — a slightly more formal, dramatic word for revenge.
Common mistake
The phrase "with a vengeance" doesn't always involve actual revenge — it just means doing something with unusual force or intensity, e.g. "it started raining with a vengeance."
Common pairings
seek vengeance
swear vengeance
with a vengeance
Word Forms
vengeances plural
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He swore _____ on the men who had betrayed him.
Etymology
From Anglo-Norman vengeaunce, from Old French vengier ("to avenge").