as in vengeful
likely to seek revenge
the minister urged his congregation to be less revengeful and more forgiving in spirit
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Recent Examples of revengeful
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
This latest installment finds the Sully family grieving one of their own when a new threat emerges in the form of the Fire tribe, an antagonistic group of Na’vi volcano-dwellers led by the revengeful Varang (Oona Chaplin in her franchise debut).
—Jack Dunn, Variety, 2 Dec. 2025
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
Eventually, this revengeful streak will result in loneliness and isolation.
—Nicole Froio, refinery29.com, 29 Oct. 2024
Artemis was revengeful toward anyone who trespassed in wild nature, and trespassing could mean neglect, like not paying your dues.
—Robert Sullivan, Vogue, 20 June 2023
Bold, angry, and revengeful.
—Michael W. Clune, Harper’s Magazine , 10 Apr. 2023
The club came back with wins over Heights Norhill and a revengeful victory over Post Oak on Sunday, but leaving the bases loaded three times is going to all but ruin any team’s hopes for a big win.
—Robert Avery, Houston Chronicle, 9 July 2019
Marcia Luttrell, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Dec. 2025
This latest installment finds the Sully family grieving one of their own when a new threat emerges in the form of the Fire tribe, an antagonistic group of Na’vi volcano-dwellers led by the revengeful Varang (Oona Chaplin in her franchise debut).
—Jack Dunn, Variety, 2 Dec. 2025
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
Eventually, this revengeful streak will result in loneliness and isolation.
—Nicole Froio, refinery29.com, 29 Oct. 2024
Artemis was revengeful toward anyone who trespassed in wild nature, and trespassing could mean neglect, like not paying your dues.
—Robert Sullivan, Vogue, 20 June 2023
Bold, angry, and revengeful.
—Michael W. Clune, Harper’s Magazine , 10 Apr. 2023
The club came back with wins over Heights Norhill and a revengeful victory over Post Oak on Sunday, but leaving the bases loaded three times is going to all but ruin any team’s hopes for a big win.
—Robert Avery, Houston Chronicle, 9 July 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for revengeful
Adjective
-
That vengeful justification yielded during the Enlightenment, during a broader societal conversion to an age of reason.—
Paul Rosenzweig,
The Atlantic,
3 Jan. 2026
-
For example, the whale-like Tulkun return, but bigger and more vengeful.—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
17 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
Meanwhile, in Oxford, Mississippi, an equally giddy and slightly more vindictive fanbase had all of about 30 minutes to celebrate their team’s win.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
9 Jan. 2026
-
Who is not petty or vindictive.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The forest had taught him that city dwellers could often be regulated by cruel and rather unpredictable codes.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
12 Jan. 2026
-
That Maduro is a cruel dictator is clear; that Trump intends more than just his arrest (such as taking their oil) is equally clear.—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
9 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have strong antivirus software installed on all your devices.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
11 Jan. 2026
-
And at the heart of the series was the parasitic dynamic between Pine and his delightfully malicious foe, an arms dealer named Richard Onslow Roper (Hugh Laurie).—
Emily Zemler,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Officials charged Damon Leanord of Pleasanton, Kansas, with interference with law enforcement, having a vicious dog at large and criminal desecration of a body in Linn County and abandonment of a corpse charges in Bates County, Missouri, after finding the child’s body at the bottom of a creek bed.—
Sofi Zeman
January 6,
Kansas City Star,
6 Jan. 2026
-
He was shocked in 2013 when he was struck by vicious bouts of vomiting.—
Robert McCoppin,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Thompson, meanwhile, savors every contemptuous glare and hateful retort Anna regularly supplies.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
8 Jan. 2026
-
At best, both Labour and the Conservatives have spent political capital on an activist who has repeatedly expressed thoughtless and hateful views in public.—
Helen Lewis,
The Atlantic,
30 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
Skepticism came easily to Trump, who had long been hostile to mainstream foreign policy.—
Daniel Immerwahr,
New Yorker,
10 Jan. 2026
-
The helicopter the pilot was flying — a heavy, twin-rotor MH-47 Chinook — was struck by hostile fire during the operation.—
January 9,
CBS News,
9 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Angel went for a respectful middle-of-the-road jab — complimenting her parenting and resilience, but maligning her for being petty.—
Shamira Ibrahim,
Vulture,
5 Jan. 2026
-
Who is not petty or vindictive.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Revengeful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/revengeful. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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