revenge

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B1 — Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun action taken in return for an injury or offense
  2. verb take revenge for a perceived wrong

Etymology

From Middle French revenge, a derivation from revenger, from Old French revengier (possibly influenced by Old Occitan revènge (“revenge, comeback”), from Old Occitan revenir (“to come back”)), a variant of Middle French revancher (whence deverbal French revanche), from Old French revenchier. The variants Old French vengier (whence French venger) and Old French venchier are both descended from Latin vindicō, with stress-conditioned different parallel development in the inflectional forms. Doublet of revanche. Compare avenge and vengeance.

In classic literature

Synonyms

retaliation

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