avenge

\ 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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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 Boseman’s, by contrast, settles for supercool, one-note avenging angel. — Michael Phillips, chicagotribune.com, "‘21 Bridges’: Chadwick Boseman takes Manhattan and on the whole, I’d rather be in Wakanda," 21 Nov. 2019 Analysis: The Ravens head to Cleveland, getting their chance to avenge a 40-25 Week 4 loss that, to date, is still their worst defeat of the season. — Daniel Oyefusi, baltimoresun.com, "Breaking down Ravens’ final seven games: What are the playoff implications, and which games could be flexed?," 13 Nov. 2019 Division 2 Super Bowl: Lincoln-Sudbury (8-2) vs. Mansfield (9-1), Friday, Dec. 6, TBA Lincoln-Sudbury avenged a loss to North Andover in last year’s North final, stopping the Scarlet Knights 27-14. — BostonGlobe.com, "Defending champion St. John’s Prep pounded Lowell," 19 Nov. 2019 Bardstown avenged a regular-season loss by whipping Elizabethtown 51-27 on Friday. — Jason Frakes, The Courier-Journal, "What to know about Friday's Louisville-area high school football playoff games," 18 Nov. 2019 The Huskies avenged the loss to Smithsburg with a 1-0 semifinal win on a goal from Lauren Westbrook. — Glenn Graham, baltimoresun.com, "Previewing the soccer state championship games," 13 Nov. 2019 Girard 7 Perry avenged last year’s second-round playoff loss to Girard with a resounding victory. — cleveland, "Northeast Ohio high-school football playoff results for Saturday, Nov. 9, 2019," 10 Nov. 2019 In winning their seventh consecutive match, the Huskies (25-6) avenged a three-set loss to the Panthers in last year’s Class 8A regional final. — Jeff Gardenour, orlandosentinel.com, "Hagerty hammers Plant to reach 7A volleyball state final," 9 Nov. 2019 Deer Park has now avenged the two defeats that kept them out of the playoffs last year, defeating Channelview and C.E. King. — Robert Avery, Houston Chronicle, "King of nailbiters, Deer Park nips C.E. King 27-20," 19 Oct. 2019

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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Last Updated

8 Dec 2019

Cite this Entry

“Avenge.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/avenged. Accessed 15 December 2019.

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