VINDICTIVENESS Synonyms: 52 Similar and Opposite Words

vindictiveness

noun

Definition of vindictiveness

as in hatred

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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 vindictiveness Manipulation, escalation, flattery and vindictiveness are not the unavoidable price of sounding natural. — Puneet Gaur, Forbes.com, 1 Oct. 2026 Last month, Judge Crenshaw concluded that while there was insufficient evidence to prove actual vindictiveness, the government could not justify its sudden shift from wanting to deport Abrego Garcia to prosecuting him. — Laura Romero, ABC News, 22 June 2026 In less capable hands, her bitchiness, her vanity, her vindictiveness would have made her one-dimensional. — Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2026 Benching him on Thursday wouldn’t have been an act of vindictiveness, just as playing him wasn’t an act of mercy. — Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 15 May 2026 The line between law enforcement and partisan vindictiveness can also become muddied. — Benjamin Wallace-Wells, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025 When circumstances create a realistic likelihood of vindictiveness, the burden shifts to the government to justify its conduct. — Cassandra Burke Robertson, The Conversation, 8 Oct. 2025 Johnson says Comey may be able to argue that he is being prosecuted out of vindictiveness, given the president's remarks. — Brittney Melton, NPR, 26 Sep. 2025 So there’s a feeling of vindictiveness and petulance that’s in there, but there’s also a practicality to it, too. — Max Gao, HollywoodReporter, 21 Sep. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for vindictiveness

Noun

Orlando should be proud of the people who gave those words meaning by refusing to let hatred go unanswered.

— Linda Chapin, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 Nov. 2026
The exchange is one of many contentious clashes between those who oppose data centers in their communities, which have earned bipartisan hatred, and those advocating for them.

— Maggie Harrison Dupré, Futurism, 29 Oct. 2026

Definition of hatred

Noun

Firefighters and authorities in both European countries were caught off guard by the virulence of the fires, which were fueled by high temperatures and the long-term effects of climate change.

— ABC News, ABC News, 25 July 2026
The virulence of the French and Spanish wildfires, fueled by high temperatures and the long-term effects of climate change, caught fire crews and authorities off guard.

— Mark Carlson, Fortune, 25 July 2026

Definition of virulence

Noun

For months now, so much vitriol crept into our TVs, interrupting the Bears or your favorite college football team with a special message from a super PAC or a partisan looking to score points by smearing their opponents.

— The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 3 Nov. 2026
Lily Allen, shameless pop ironist and self-satirist, has never shied from public vitriol—a quality that has come in handy as fans have reacted to her live shows behind West End Girl.

— Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 30 Oct. 2026

Definition of vitriol

Noun

In other photographs of Deckard, Vaughan preserves his stillness, his distance, and arch alienation played to perfection by Ford.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 Oct. 2026
With its mix of teenage alienation, anti-authority diatribes and heaps of personality disorder, Darko is appealing in a kind of neo-Heathers, anti-establishment way.

— Duane Byrge, HollywoodReporter, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of alienation

Noun

In a time when peers such as the New York Dolls and Velvet Underground were upending rock and roll with glamour and arty disaffection, Television fulfilled the genre’s promises of both swaggering virtuosity and restless reinvention.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 8 Nov. 2026
The regime remains capable of suppressing any organized resistance in the country, but the growing disaffection of the elite threatens to weaken the state from within.

— Jieun Baek, Foreign Affairs, 30 Oct. 2026

Definition of disaffection

Browse Nearby Words

vindictively

vindictiveness

vinegar

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“Vindictiveness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vindictiveness. Accessed 13 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of vindictiveness

noun

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