REVENGEFUL Synonyms: 68 Similar and Opposite Words

revengeful

adjective

ri-ˈvenj-fəl

Definition of revengeful

as in vengeful

likely to seek revenge the minister urged his congregation to be less revengeful and more forgiving in spirit

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of revengeful 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 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 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 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

Jimmy’s vengeful spirit comes back to haunt the Owens, who must enlist the help of Jet, Franny, and the group of reticent townswomen to banish him back to the nether-realm.

— Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Sep. 2026
When her beloved dog Krypto is poisoned, Kara teams with a vengeful teen (Eve Ridley) and a rambunctious bounty hunter (Jason Momoa) to hunt down the vicious outlaw responsible.

— Brian Truitt, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of vengeful

Adjective

Artillery, who’s being hunted down by vindictive cops, rightly accuses Lamar of caring more about sourcing vocals than his physical safety.

— Alison Herman, Variety, 8 Sep. 2026
For the crime of vindictive, self-satisfying violence in the name of protecting her family, the narrative gods of Lioness will take it all away from Joe, from a mission accomplished to a family life secured.

— Andy Andersen, Vulture, 6 Sep. 2026

Definition of vindictive

Adjective

Bronwyn’s mother, Muzzy, who was lambasted all of last season for being cold and arguably cruel to her daughter, is notably softer in her first scene back — though the bob is as cunty as ever.

— Tom Smyth, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2026
He was convicted of four counts of war crimes including murder, torture, cruel treatment and arbitrary detention.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of cruel

Adjective

The technique has similarities to web skimming, where malicious code captures payment information as a shopper types it into an online checkout page.

— Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 18 Sep. 2026
This malicious torrent leads to the download of the malware loader.

— Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of malicious

Adjective

His Lamb goes from a brash Yorkshire showman to a callous profiteer of human vice and misery, his cheeky smile becoming a vicious snarl.

— Joe Reid, Vulture, 21 Sep. 2026
The strikes were often most vicious in the far north of Yemen, a rebel stronghold and the region where the Houthi movement had been founded, in the nineteen-nineties.

— Kareem Fahim, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2026

Definition of vicious

Adjective

Mary Petchlikoff, 69, of Dearborn, recalls mobilizing on 9/11 to help protect Muslim students who were starting to receive some hateful harassment.

— Niraj Warikoo, Freep.com, 12 Sep. 2026
Some critics predicted Mohammed would use a trial as a platform to spread hateful views of America and its allies.

— ABC News, ABC News, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of hateful

Adjective

Worse, her estranged sister April (Naomi Watts), a drama queen, and hostile mother, Diane (Dianne Wiest), fly in from their Michigan hair salon to add to Sandra’s suffering.

— Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2026
European authorities have linked Moscow to a rising number of drone incursions, sabotage incidents, cyberattacks, and other hostile acts across the continent in recent months.

— Anniek Bao, CNBC, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of hostile

Adjective

The good and the bad of democracy — healthy debate and petty political theater — were on display that weekend in Brussels.

— Esther King, The Dial, 15 Sep. 2026
Mehring’s characters include petty criminals, unscrupulous lawyers, Galician Jews, Freikorps heavies, local and international businessmen, Prussian generals, and the everyday citizens inhabiting the streets of Berlin’s old and rather dingy center.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of petty

Browse Nearby Words

revenged

revengeful

revenger

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Revengeful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/revengeful. Accessed 22 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of revengeful

adjective

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

nemesis

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?

Popular

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes