revenge

IPA/rɪˈvendʒ/
KK[rivˈɛndʒ]IPA/rɪˈvendʒ/

revenge — noun

1. the act of hurting or causing trouble for someone who has hurt you or someone cl

1.nounB2
Definition

the act of hurting or causing trouble for someone who has hurt you or someone close to you, done as a form of payback

Example

After Jason's bike was stolen by a neighbor, he planned his revenge carefully.

collocation: plan revenge

Lotte did not want revenge on her cheating partner; she just wanted to leave the situation behind.

pattern: revenge on [someone]

Common collocations
  • seek revenge
  • get revenge
  • take revenge
  • dream of revenge
  • thirst for revenge
  • revenge attack
  • act of revenge
  • revenge on
  • revenge for
Synonyms
  • vengeance

    stronger, more emotional, and often implies moral justification; 'vengeance' suggests righteous punishment while 'revenge' is more personal and neutral

  • retribution

    more formal and impersonal; often suggests punishment coming from an authority or cosmic justice rather than from the victim

  • retaliation

    focuses on responding in kind, especially in workplace, political, or military contexts; less emotional than revenge

Antonyms
  • forgiveness

    the choice to let go of the desire to hurt someone back

  • mercy

    showing kindness instead of punishing someone who has wronged you

Grammar Patterns

revenge on/against [someone]

Usage Note

Nearly always uncountable; when used as a countable noun (e.g., 'a revenge'), it sounds literary or dated. The common patterns are 'get revenge on [someone]', 'take revenge on [someone]', and 'seek revenge for [something]'.

Common Mistakes

I will take a revenge on him.
I will take revenge on him.
revenge is nearly always uncountable, so no article 'a' is used.
Idioms

revenge is a dish best served cold

idiom

a saying that revenge is more satisfying when it is carried out long after the original wrong, giving the person time to plan carefully

The old man smiled and said, 'Revenge is a dish best served cold — I've been waiting twenty years for this moment.'

Lucía laughed when she heard the news and told her brother, 'Revenge is a dish best served cold — your old boss just got what was coming to him.'

revenge — verb

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

While all four words involve paying someone back for a wrong, they differ in emotional weight and context. Revenge is the most personal and everyday term — it describes one person hurting another because of a perceived injury, often driven by anger or pride. Vengeance carries a stronger emotional charge and often implies moral rightness; it appears frequently in literary and religious contexts ('crying out for vengeance'). Retribution is more formal and impersonal — it suggests punishment handed down by a system or authority rather than by the victim themselves (e.g., 'divine retribution'). Retaliation focuses on the act of striking back in direct response, often in tit-for-tat exchanges, and is common in workplace, political, or military language. For example, 'She got revenge by spreading rumors' (personal, emotional); 'The army launched a retaliatory strike' (tit-for-tat, strategic); 'He believed vengeance belonged to God' (moral, religious); 'The court demanded retribution for the crimes' (systemic, formal).

revenge ↗vengeance ↗retributionretaliation ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • in revenge for
  • out of revenge
  • an act of revenge
  • a thirst for revenge

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchAnglo-FrenchEnglish

Revenge entered Middle English around the 1300s from Anglo-French 'revenge', which came from Old French 'revencher' (to take revenge). The French verb combined 're-' (again, back) with 'vengier' (to avenge), from Latin 'vindicare' (to claim, to punish). The Latin root 'vindicta' (vengeance) is also the source of 'vindicate' and 'vengeance'. The core idea has always been striking back to settle a score.