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avenge

verb
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\ ə-ˈvenj How to pronounce avenge (audio) \
avenged; avenging

Definition of avenge

transitive verb

1 : to take vengeance for or on behalf of vowed to avenge their murdered father
2 : to exact satisfaction for (a wrong) by punishing the wrongdoer was determined to avenge the assault
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Other Words from avenge

avenger noun

Synonyms for avenge

Synonyms

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Examples of avenge in a Sentence

The brothers vowed to avenge the death of their father. They vowed to avenge their father by capturing and punishing his killer.
Recent Examples on the Web Booker finished Wednesday's game with 27 points as five Suns (22-33) reached double figures in avenging a December loss at Golden State. — Duane Rankin, azcentral, "Devin Booker scores 27 in Suns' win over Warriors, may find spot in all-star game," 12 Feb. 2020 The culture has evolved in the decades since Dolly Parton, Lily Tomlin, and Jane Fonda avenged the nefarious sexism of the then-contemporary office. — Rumaan Alam, The New Republic, "Women Can’t Have It All, Even at the Movies," 22 Jan. 2020 Later on, Takeo is killed by his dead son, who seeks to avenge his and his mother’s life. — Gina Vaynshteyn, refinery29.com, "Here’s How The Grudge Works, In Case You Were Blessed Enough To Forget," 3 Jan. 2020 The Wildcats finished with a 10-1 record and avenged their regular-season loss to Arbutus (18-0 in Week 3) by knocking them off in Week 6 (24-14) and again in the finals. — Carroll County Times Sports Staff, baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll, "Rec Sports: Westminster Wildcats take Super Bowl title," 23 Nov. 2019 Cousins is coming off a rough game against the Packers and is vowing to avenge himself. — Jon Becker, The Mercury News, "Live updates: Raiders get ripped by Vikings, lose 34-14," 22 Sep. 2019 Nor were women spared in reprisals to avenge the killing of German soldiers. — Catherine Bailey, WSJ, "‘A House in the Mountains’ Review: Four Against Fascism," 31 Jan. 2020 DeSoto avenged a 50-42 district loss to SGP on Dec. 17, a game in which SGP led 17-5 after one quarter and 32-20 at halftime. — Greg Riddle, Dallas News, "Shorthanded DeSoto girls beat state power South Grand Prairie to earn share of District 7-6A lead," 22 Jan. 2020 Images of him now plaster billboards calling for Iran to avenge his death. — Amir Vahdat And Jon Gambrell, SFChronicle.com, "Seasoned general emerges as successor to leader killed in US air strike," 4 Jan. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'avenge.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of avenge

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for avenge

Middle English, from Anglo-French avenger, from a- (from Latin ad-) + venger to avenge — more at vengeance

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Time Traveler for avenge

Time Traveler

The first known use of avenge was in the 14th century

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Statistics for avenge

Last Updated

17 Feb 2020

Cite this Entry

“Avenge.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/avenge. Accessed 19 Feb. 2020.

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More Definitions for avenge

avenge

verb
How to pronounce avenge (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of avenge

: to harm or punish someone who has harmed you or someone or something that you care about

See the full definition for avenge in the English Language Learners Dictionary

avenge

verb
\ ə-ˈvenj How to pronounce avenge (audio) \
avenged; avenging

Kids Definition of avenge

: to take revenge for avenge a wrong

Other Words from avenge

avenger noun

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More from Merriam-Webster on avenge

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for avenge

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with avenge

Spanish Central: Translation of avenge

Nglish: Translation of avenge for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of avenge for Arabic Speakers

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