as in vengeful
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Dissimilar Words
as in revenging
to punish in kind the wrongdoer responsible for
a play about a prince who struggles to avenge his father's death
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of avenging
David Sims, The Atlantic, 31 May 2018
Iron Man and his avenging friends are onto Phase 3 now.)
—David Greenwald, OregonLive.com, 13 June 2017
Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 11 Mar. 2026
The win also carries extra meaning for a program that has rapidly risen under coach Cameron Bradford, avenging a 2023 NorCal semifinal loss to Oakland and sending TKA to its second consecutive NorCal final.
—Nathan Canilao, Mercury News, 8 Mar. 2026
Yet avenging that setback to their Champions League qualification chances was not simply about being more ruthless at one end of the pitch and less careless at the other.
—James Pearce, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2026
In Vertical‘s first trailer for the modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s tragedy, which premieres April 10 in theaters, Riz Ahmed takes on the titular role of a man avenging his father’s death and taking on his family’s corrupt empire.
—Glenn Garner, Deadline, 24 Feb. 2026
In fact, everything the Bruins want to achieve remains in front of them – defending their Big Ten Tournament championship, avenging a 2025 Final Four loss.
—Aaron Heisen, Daily News, 18 Feb. 2026
Bella Ramsey takes a break from killing zombies and avenging father figures, their usual pastimes in series The Last of Us, to fool around and fall in love in Sunny Dancer, a decidedly uneven but fitfully charming, YA-skewed British comedy-drama.
—Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 13 Feb. 2026
The Stars and Golden Knights played playoff series in back-to-back seasons in 2023 and 2024 — with the Stars falling to the Golden Knights in the 2023 Western Conference finals before avenging that loss in a thrilling Game 7 win in the first round of 2024.
—Sportsday Staff, Dallas Morning News, 29 Jan. 2026
Klay Thompson scored 16 of his 23 points in the frame, avenging his scoreless performance in the play-in opener a year earlier with the Golden State Warriors, and Anthony Davis scored a game-high 27 points.
—Chris Biderman, Sacbee.com, 1 Jan. 2026
Adjective
Toss in his portly stature and Hoskins was a perfect choice for the heroic plumber Mario, the avenging angel who stomps through worlds of evil turtles and living mushrooms, even if the actor was neither Italian nor American.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 31 May 2018
Iron Man and his avenging friends are onto Phase 3 now.)
—David Greenwald, OregonLive.com, 13 June 2017
Verb
But the team wouldn’t mind avenging Saturday’s loss at Marquette, which cost them a regular season championship.
—Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 11 Mar. 2026
The win also carries extra meaning for a program that has rapidly risen under coach Cameron Bradford, avenging a 2023 NorCal semifinal loss to Oakland and sending TKA to its second consecutive NorCal final.
—Nathan Canilao, Mercury News, 8 Mar. 2026
Yet avenging that setback to their Champions League qualification chances was not simply about being more ruthless at one end of the pitch and less careless at the other.
—James Pearce, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2026
In Vertical‘s first trailer for the modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s tragedy, which premieres April 10 in theaters, Riz Ahmed takes on the titular role of a man avenging his father’s death and taking on his family’s corrupt empire.
—Glenn Garner, Deadline, 24 Feb. 2026
In fact, everything the Bruins want to achieve remains in front of them – defending their Big Ten Tournament championship, avenging a 2025 Final Four loss.
—Aaron Heisen, Daily News, 18 Feb. 2026
Bella Ramsey takes a break from killing zombies and avenging father figures, their usual pastimes in series The Last of Us, to fool around and fall in love in Sunny Dancer, a decidedly uneven but fitfully charming, YA-skewed British comedy-drama.
—Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 13 Feb. 2026
The Stars and Golden Knights played playoff series in back-to-back seasons in 2023 and 2024 — with the Stars falling to the Golden Knights in the 2023 Western Conference finals before avenging that loss in a thrilling Game 7 win in the first round of 2024.
—Sportsday Staff, Dallas Morning News, 29 Jan. 2026
Klay Thompson scored 16 of his 23 points in the frame, avenging his scoreless performance in the play-in opener a year earlier with the Golden State Warriors, and Anthony Davis scored a game-high 27 points.
—Chris Biderman, Sacbee.com, 1 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for avenging
Adjective
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The two become a secret couple, and in a funny way this movie about the transcendence of the maternal bond turns on Ledger’s evolving emotions — his realization that Kenna is a good woman, and that blaming her for Scotty’s death was shortsighted and too vengeful.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
11 Mar. 2026
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Genre expectations demand a certain level of peril and bloodshed, but seeing Monster register his suffering doubled at the end of Bride of Frankenstein is too poignant to only depict the Bride as violent and vengeful thereafter.—
Rory Doherty,
Time,
7 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The benchmark for European gas also surged by about 12% after Iran on Wednesday and Thursday mounted retaliatory strikes targeting energy sites in several Gulf countries.—
Kevin Shalvey,
ABC News,
19 Mar. 2026
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Expelling Iranian diplomatic personnel marks one of Doha’s strongest retaliatory steps to date and signals a possible shift away from its traditionally cautious approach toward Iran.—
Claire Carter,
The Washington Examiner,
18 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The crude market has been hit by wild volatility since the United States and Israel began striking Iran at the end of last month, with Tehran retaliating by attacking targets across the oil-rich Gulf and effectively shutting down the Strait of Hormuz.—
Nur Hikmah Md Ali,
CNBC,
12 Mar. 2026
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Anthropic filed suit on Monday seeking to block both the Pentagon's supply chain risk determination and the president's directive, saying the administration was illegally retaliating for speech protected by the First Amendment.—
Jennifer Jacobs,
CBS News,
10 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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That timeline is a key part of the argument Smartmatic laid out in its March 10 filing, which is asking the court to dismiss the charges as amounting to unlawfully vindictive against the company.—
Aysha Bagchi,
USA Today,
10 Mar. 2026
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That was the Harvey that many people remember — crude, profane and vindictive.—
Maer Roshan,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
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At an average of over 21%, today's credit card rates are punishing, meaning that the repayment process continually gets more difficult for borrowers as the interest compounds.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
17 Mar. 2026
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The Avalanche Gulch route is 11 miles round-trip, with 7,300 punishing feet of vertical gain.—
Gregory Thomas,
San Francisco Chronicle,
14 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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DeMar DeRozan had 32, Russell Westbrook had a revengeful 22 and Malik Monk had 26 off the bench.—
Zach Harper,
New York Times,
13 Jan. 2026
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Brian Heil played Don Jose with angst and ultimately, revengeful rage as Carmen’s spurned lover.—
Marcia Luttrell,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
21 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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This saga is almost a perfect encapsulation of the administration, which somehow manages to be both malevolent and incompetent, highly disorganized while still doing a lot of damage.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
4 Mar. 2026
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Red thread radiates from Stalin’s eyes like light from a malevolent sun, while other faces disappear behind horizontal bars of stitching, imprisoned by embroidery.—
Anel Rakhimzhanova,
Artforum,
1 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Fleming was charged with one count of malicious assault, with the sheriff's department adding that more charges are possible in the future.—
Michael Guise,
CBS News,
19 Mar. 2026
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Cole was charged with one count of unlawfully transporting an explosive device with a plan either to kill, injure, or intimidate a person or to unlawfully destroy property, and a second count of malicious destruction or attempt to destroy with an explosive device.—
Mary Walrath-Holdridge,
USA Today,
17 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Avenging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/avenging. Accessed 20 Mar. 2026.
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