vengeance

noun

ven·​geance ˈven-jən(t)s 

: punishment inflicted in retaliation for an injury or offense : retribution

see also:

with a vengeance

Synonyms of vengeance

• revenge
• retaliation
• retribution

Examples of vengeance in a Sentence

He thought briefly of the long-dead woman bound to this stone in 1654 and burnt alive as a witch. And for what? An over-sharp tongue, delusions, mental eccentricity, to satisfy a private vengeance, the need for a scapegoat in times of sickness or the failure of a harvest, or perhaps as a sacrifice to propitiate a malignant unnamed god? —P. D. James, The Private Patient, 2008

Unlike the type of cannibalism much of the world had come to know—among desperate explorers, marooned sailors, and victims of famine—the Cinta Larga's consumption of human flesh was born not out of necessity but out of vengeance and an adherence to tribal traditions and ceremony. —Candice Millard, The River of Doubt, 2005

As it turns out, police crackdowns in the 1990's did not so much destroy Los Angeles street gangs as temporarily displace them to Central America. Soon they returned with a vengeance; gang-related homicide rose 50 percent between 1999 and 2002. —Richard Brookhiser, New York Times Book Review, 9 Jan. 2005

He is trying to do in his corner of Texas what death-penalty opponents say is impossible: enforce capital punishment flawlessly, ensuring that the innocent never spend a day on death row and the guilty are sent there only after trials free of bias and vengeance. —John Cloud, Time, 14 July 2003

A holy war may be launched to root out terrorism, but its form must be a punitive crusade, an angry god's vengeance exacted upon sinners, since no proper war can exist when there is no recognition of the other's list of grievances, no awareness of the relentless dynamic binding the powerful and powerless. —John Edgar Wideman, Harper's, March 2002

The fire was set as an act of vengeance.

Angry protesters wanted to inflict vengeance on the killer.

Recent Examples on the Web

Kabuki, for example, was strictly censored by Allied officials for the first few years of the occupation, owing to its characteristic themes of loyalty, vengeance, and honor. —Joshua Hunt, Harpers Magazine, 24 Feb. 2026

With their leader detained, El Mayo’s sicarios, or hit men, declared war against supporters of Chapo’s sons in an attempt to exact vengeance for the treachery and strengthen their own position in the wider organization. —Daniel Depetris, Chicago Tribune, 24 Feb. 2026

During a visit from his father’s ghost (Avijit Dutt), Hamlet discovers Claudius was behind the murder, sending him on a path of vengeance and self-reflection. —Glenn Garner, Deadline, 24 Feb. 2026

Your corrupt presidency of graft, vengeance and ceaseless vacillation between loudly complaining and loudly boasting has become like a jackhammer outside our collective window every day since your inauguration. —Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 21 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English vengeaunce, borrowed from Anglo-French, from venger "to exact satisfaction for" (going back to Latin vindicāre "to lay claim to, exact retribution for") + -aunce -ance — more at vindicate

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

vengeance

noun

ven·​geance ˈven-jən(t)s 

: punishment given in return for an injury or offense : retribution