vendetta

noun ven·det·ta \ ven-ˈde-tə \

Updated on: 14 Apr 2018

Definition of vendetta

1 : blood feud

2 : an often prolonged series of retaliatory, vengeful, or hostile acts or exchange of such acts

waged a personal vendetta against those who opposed his nomination

See vendetta defined for English-language learners

See vendetta defined for kids

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Examples of vendetta in a Sentence

He waged a personal vendetta against his rivals in the Senate.

Recent Examples of vendetta from the Web

Some advisers believed that Kelly was using the president to push a personal vendetta against McMaster.

— washington post, BostonGlobe.com, "John Kelly: Is White House chief of staff on the outside looking in?," 9 Apr. 2018
Some advisers believed that Kelly was using the president to push a personal vendetta against McMaster.

— author: ashley parker, josh dawsey, philip rucker, Anchorage Daily News, "'When you lose that power': How John Kelly faded as White House disciplinarian," 8 Apr. 2018
Some advisers believed that Kelly was using the president to push a personal vendetta against McMaster.

— the washington post, NOLA.com, "'When you lose that power': How John Kelly faded as White House disciplinarian," 7 Apr. 2018
That decision will be seen by his supporters as endorsing a political vendetta, potentially damaging the legitimacy of a presidential election in October.

— The Economist, "Brazil’s Lula and government by judges," 5 Apr. 2018
Even so, Mutumuara’s gripe with the Red Cross seemed deeply personal, a vendetta over a long record of neighborly grievances.

— Longreads, "Where Have You Hidden the Cholera?," 5 Apr. 2018
The killings were variously blamed on Mafia vendettas, black vigilantes, a bootleggers war and the drug trade.

— william thornton, AL.com, "New book recounts bloody, forgotten Birmingham axe murders," 4 Apr. 2018
According to New York Magazine, Trump’s antipathy towards Amazon has less to do with a desire to prop up failing retailers and more to do with his vendetta against Bezos’ Washington Post and its bruising coverage of Trump’s campaign.

— chris stirewalt, Fox News, "Welcome to the jungle, Amazon," 28 Mar. 2018
But there are even deeper questions about Trump’s public vendetta against McCabe, and the role Sessions played in his termination.

— ezra klein, Vox, "McCabe’s firing shows how Trump’s behavior corrodes faith in government.," 17 Mar. 2018

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

Did You Know?

Vendetta has been getting even in English since the mid-19th century. English speakers borrowed vendetta, spelling and all, from Italian, in which it means "revenge." It ultimately traces to the Latin verb vindicare, which means "to lay claim to" or "to avenge." That Latin word is also in the family tree of many other English terms related to getting even, including avenge, revenge, vengeance, vindicate, and vindictive.

Origin and Etymology of vendetta

borrowed from Italian, "retribution, revenge, blood feud," going back to Latin vindicta — more at vindictive

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1855

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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VENDETTA Defined for English Language Learners

vendetta

noun

Definition of vendetta for English Language Learners

: a very long and violent fight between two families or groups
: a series of acts done by someone over a long period of time to cause harm to a disliked person or group