vendetta

play

noun ven·det·ta \ven-ˈde-tə\

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

vendetta was our Word of the Day on 10/25/2014. Hear the podcast!

Examples of vendetta in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of vendetta from the Web

In recent years, China has had several incidents of attackers entering schools and stabbing children, mostly carried out by people that officials say have vendettas against society.

— associated press, latimes.com, "Attacker stabs 12 children at China kindergarten", 4 Jan. 2017
Now, these provisions weren’t intended to empower a president to reverse decades of U.S. trade policy, or engage in personal vendettas.

— paul krugman, New York Times, "And the Trade War Came", 26 Dec. 2016
Below its blustering military surface, the opera explores dark themes like vendettas and subterfuged desire.

— christopher d. shea, New York Times, "Opera and Dance", 21 Dec. 2016
Imagine what somebody with a press vendetta and a dim view of the First Amendment would do with that kind of power.

— jim rutenberg, New York Times, "Where Will Trump Stand on Press Freedoms?", 13 Nov. 2016
Mr. Trump’s Breitbart posse has a vendetta against Republicans on Capitol Hill and is motivated by brooding resentments that too often veer into white-identity politics.

— WSJ, "The Gamble of Trump", 6 Nov. 2016
If Thiel could take down Gawker as a personal vendetta, the voices said, couldn’t Legalist do much the same?

— davey alba, WIRED, "You Too Can Invest In Lawsuits. But Not Quite Like Peter Thiel", 29 Aug. 2016
Peter Thiel, the billionaire Silicon Valley entrepreneur who has waged a personal vendetta against Gawker Media and financially supported legal action against the media company, is scheduled to speak at the convention.

— sydney ember, New York Times, "G.O.P. Arena Will Highlight Trump’s Media Blacklist", 17 July 2016
The one exception is Peter Thiel, the billionaire investor who was last in the news for his vendetta against Gawker.

— farhad manjoo and mike isaac, New York Times, "Subscribe to the Bits Newsletter", 16 July 2016

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

First Known Use: 1855

VENDETTA Defined for English Language Learners

vendetta

play

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