avenge

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avenge

to exact satisfaction for; vindicate: He will avenge his partner’s death.

Not to be confused with:

revenge – to exact punishment for a wrong in a resentful spirit: She was determined to get revenge for the insulting remark. [Avenge and revenge were formerly interchangeable, but now they convey diverse ideas. Avenge means inflicting punishment as an act of retributive justice: to avenge a murder by bringing the criminal to trial. Revenge is now defined as inflicting pain to retaliate for real or fancied wrongs: He will revenge himself upon the man who libeled him.]

a·venge

(ə-vĕnj′)

tr.v. a·venged, a·veng·ing, a·veng·es

1. To inflict a punishment or penalty in return for; revenge: avenge a murder.

2. To take vengeance on behalf of: avenged their wronged parents.

[Middle English avengen, from Old French avengier : a-, to (from Latin ad-; see ad-) + vengier, to vindicate (from Latin vindicāre, to claim; see vindicate).]

a·veng′er n.

a·veng′ing·ly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

avenge

(əˈvɛndʒ)

(usually tr) to inflict a punishment in retaliation for (harm, injury, etc) done to (a person or persons); take revenge for or on behalf of: to avenge a crime; to avenge a murdered friend.

[C14: from Old French avengier, from vengier, from Latin vindicāre; see vengeance, vindicate]

aˈvenger n

aˈvengeress fem n

Usage: The use of avenge with a reflexive pronoun was formerly considered incorrect, but is now acceptable: she avenged herself on the man who killed her daughter

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

a•venge

(əˈvɛndʒ)

v.t. a•venged, a•veng•ing.

1. to take vengeance or exact satisfaction for: to avenge a murder.

2. to take vengeance on behalf of.

[1325–75; Middle English < Old French avengier=a- a-⁵ + vengier < Latin vindicāre; see vindicate]

a•venge′ful, adj.

a•veng′er, n.

avenge

Past participle: avenged
Gerund: avenging

Imperative
avenge
avenge

Present
I avenge
you avenge
he/she/it avenges
we avenge
you avenge
they avenge

Preterite
I avenged
you avenged
he/she/it avenged
we avenged
you avenged
they avenged

Present Continuous
I am avenging
you are avenging
he/she/it is avenging
we are avenging
you are avenging
they are avenging

Present Perfect
I have avenged
you have avenged
he/she/it has avenged
we have avenged
you have avenged
they have avenged

Past Continuous
I was avenging
you were avenging
he/she/it was avenging
we were avenging
you were avenging
they were avenging

Past Perfect
I had avenged
you had avenged
he/she/it had avenged
we had avenged
you had avenged
they had avenged

Future
I will avenge
you will avenge
he/she/it will avenge
we will avenge
you will avenge
they will avenge

Future Perfect
I will have avenged
you will have avenged
he/she/it will have avenged
we will have avenged
you will have avenged
they will have avenged

Future Continuous
I will be avenging
you will be avenging
he/she/it will be avenging
we will be avenging
you will be avenging
they will be avenging

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been avenging
you have been avenging
he/she/it has been avenging
we have been avenging
you have been avenging
they have been avenging

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been avenging
you will have been avenging
he/she/it will have been avenging
we will have been avenging
you will have been avenging
they will have been avenging

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been avenging
you had been avenging
he/she/it had been avenging
we had been avenging
you had been avenging
they had been avenging

Conditional
I would avenge
you would avenge
he/she/it would avenge
we would avenge
you would avenge
they would avenge

Past Conditional
I would have avenged
you would have avenged
he/she/it would have avenged
we would have avenged
you would have avenged
they would have avenged

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Verb

avenge - take revenge for a perceived wrong; "He wants to avenge the murder of his brother"

retaliate, revenge

get back, get even - take revenge or even out a score; "I cannot accept the defeat--I want to get even"

penalise, penalize, punish - impose a penalty on; inflict punishment on; "The students were penalized for showing up late for class"; "we had to punish the dog for soiling the floor again"

avenge

verb get revenge for, revenge, repay, retaliate for, take revenge for, hit back for, requite, pay (someone) back for, get even for (informal), even the score for, get your own back for, take vengeance for, take satisfaction for, pay (someone) back in his or her own coin for He spent five years avenging his daughter's death.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

avenge

verb

To exact revenge for or from:

pay back, pay off, redress, repay, requite, vindicate.

Informal: fix.

Archaic: wreak.

Idioms: even the score, get back at, get even with, pay back in kind, settle accounts, take an eye for an eye.

Translations

يَأخُذ بِثأر

mstítpomstít

hævne

rächen sich rächen ahnden

εκδικούμαι

venger

megbosszul

hefna

vendicare

atkeršytikeršytikeršytojas

atriebt

hevne

vingar

pomstiť

öcünü almak

替...报仇

avenge

[əˈvendʒ] VT → vengar
to avenge o.s → vengarse (on sb en algn)

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

avenge

[əˈvɛndʒ] vt [+ death] → venger

avenge

vt → rächen; to avenge oneself on somebody (for something) → sich an jdm (für etw) rächen; an avenging angel → ein Racheengel m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

avenge

[əˈvɛndʒ] vt → vendicare
to avenge o.s. (on sb) → vendicarsi (di qn)

avenge

(əˈvendʒ) verb

to take revenge for a wrong on behalf of someone else. He avenged his brother / his brother's death.

aˈvenger noun

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

"That is the truth," answered Don Quixote, "and there is no use in troubling oneself about these matters of enchantment or being angry or vexed at them, for as they are invisible and visionary we shall find no one on whom to avenge ourselves, do what we may; rise, Sancho, if thou canst, and call the alcaide of this fortress, and get him to give me a little oil, wine, salt, and rosemary to make the salutiferous balsam, for indeed I believe I have great need of it now, because I am losing much blood from the wound that phantom gave me."

As soon as they were both mounted, at the gate of the inn, he called to the host and said in a very grave and measured voice, "Many and great are the favours, Senor Alcaide, that I have received in this castle of yours, and I remain under the deepest obligation to be grateful to you for them all the days of my life; if I can repay them in avenging you of any arrogant foe who may have wronged you, know that my calling is no other than to aid the weak, to avenge those who suffer wrong, and to chastise perfidy.

View in context

"Avenge Monsieur Fouquet!" cried the most excited of his hearers, "death to the royalists!"

But do not avenge your seigneur, do not think of avenging him.

View in context

I pray you by Jove and Themis, who is the beginning and the end of councils, [do not] hold back, my friends, and leave me singlehanded {18}--unless it be that my brave father Ulysses did some wrong to the Achaeans which you would now avenge on me, by aiding and abetting these suitors.

Not only will he deal rigorously with me, but heaven will also punish me; for my mother when she leaves the house will call on the Erinyes to avenge her; besides, it would not be a creditable thing to do, and I will have nothing to say to it.

View in context

CREON So 'twas surmised, but none was found to avenge His murder mid the trouble that ensued.

Right worthy the concern Of Phoebus, worthy thine too, for the dead; I also, as is meet, will lend my aid To avenge this wrong to Thebes and to the god.

View in context

No, no," continued the count, "had I to avenge myself, it is not thus I would take revenge."

View in context

As a general thing -- as far as I could make out -- these murderous adventures were not forays undertaken to avenge injuries, nor to settle old disputes or sudden fallings out; no, as a rule they were simply duels be- tween strangers -- duels between people who had never even been introduced to each other, and between whom existed no cause of offense whatever.

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"Be tranquil," murmured Milady; "I will avenge you--and cruelly!"

View in context

I want to avenge Rebecca and Flora MacIvor and Minna, and all the rest of the dark unhappy ones.