as in cruel
likely to seek revenge
be careful not to annoy the vindictive old woman who lives down the street
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Recent Examples of vindictive
In Vice Principals, that came in the form of Lee Russell, the effeminate, vindictive co-vice of a middle school who is best friend and arch nemesis to McBride’s Neal Gamby.
—
Daniel Dockery, Vulture, 6 Apr. 2025
The risk is clear: that a truce collapses, likely due to Russian action, Trump incorrectly believes Ukraine is to blame for spoiling his peace, and Ukraine’s aid is again frozen, this time with a more vindictive edge as they have been deemed the aggressor.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, 11 Mar. 2025
Either way, funding hydrogen in red states and not blue ones would be vindictive and un-American.
—Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2025
However, not enough focus has been placed on the real actor behind this vindictive act: Trump.
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Time, 31 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for vindictive
Daniel Dockery, Vulture, 6 Apr. 2025
The risk is clear: that a truce collapses, likely due to Russian action, Trump incorrectly believes Ukraine is to blame for spoiling his peace, and Ukraine’s aid is again frozen, this time with a more vindictive edge as they have been deemed the aggressor.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, 11 Mar. 2025
Either way, funding hydrogen in red states and not blue ones would be vindictive and un-American.
—Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2025
However, not enough focus has been placed on the real actor behind this vindictive act: Trump.
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Time, 31 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for vindictive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vindictive
Adjective
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But then perhaps that is her unsatisfying but depressingly undeniable point: there is no challenging minds this small, behaviors this cruel, spirits this mean.—
Jessica Kiang,
Variety,
30 May 2025
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The reason Evin is infamous is because of its terribly cruel high security detention centers that are poorly supervised by the Prison Chief.—
Jeff Kaufman,
Time,
30 May 2025
Adjective
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The malicious URLs outputted in the response are in clickable form, meaning all a user has to do is click one to be taken to a malicious site.—
Dan Goodin,
ArsTechnica,
23 May 2025
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Enhances visibility and control of network traffic and user activities and detects and blocks malicious activities.—
Mickey Singh,
Forbes.com,
23 May 2025
Adjective
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In the scene in question, a liberal, idealistic senator of the imperial government that controls much of the galaxy speaks out against a vengeful attack on the protesting residents of Ghorman, a planet that the empire is attempting to subjugate and militarize.—
Kyle Chayka,
New Yorker,
21 May 2025
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But one great actor who flew under the radar was Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who played the vengeful father Rayburn Swanson in The Silencing.—
Travis Bean,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2025
Adjective
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The original 2006 film, which was adapted from Lauren Weisberger’s book of the same name, starred Meryl Streep as the powerful Miranda Priestley, Anne Hathaway as fashion newbie Andy Sachs, Emily Blunt as vicious assistant Emily and Stanley Tucci as Miranda’s right hand man Nigel.—
Rachel McRady,
People.com,
23 May 2025
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Wolves are vicious and intelligent group hunters, but dogs and thunderstorms famously do not mix.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
22 May 2025
Adjective
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Fans hoping for a revengeful scoring outburst were left wanting a little more, however, as Dončić — a career 28.6 points per game scorer — added only 10 points over the final three quarters.—
Rohan Nadkarni,
NBC News,
26 Feb. 2025
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Eventually, this revengeful streak will result in loneliness and isolation.—
Nicole Froio,
refinery29.com,
29 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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Of note: Your Content must not be false, defamatory, misleading or hateful, or infringe any copyright or any other third-party rights or otherwise be unlawful.—
Will Matsuda,
New York Times,
23 May 2025
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Alpine Formula 1 driver Franco Colapinto has taken a strong stance against some of his fans who have shared hateful messages against Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda after an on-track incident in Imola on Friday.—
Lydia Mee,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 May 2025
Adjective
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Some of countries in the continent that are rich in uranium, such as Niger and Gabon, may be delicate or difficult to deal with in the near term as both underwent military coups recently, with Niger turning hostile toward the French and more toward the Russians.—
Ariel Cohen,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2025
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The game is scheduled to tip off at 8 p.m. ET and Pacers fans are sure to bring the energy and create a hostile atmosphere for New York.—
Evan Massey,
MSNBC Newsweek,
26 May 2025
Adjective
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The lives of these accomplished, seemingly independent women revolve around men, petty antics and low-stakes squabbles.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
29 May 2025
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But the most powerful response isn’t rage or petty retaliation.—
Suneeta Motala,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Vindictive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vindictive. Accessed 3 Jun. 2025.
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