revenge
harm done to someone as a punishment for harm that they have done to someone else
انتقام، خونخواهى
Revenge is the work of the devil.
خون خواهی كار شيطان است.
Oxford Essential Dictionary
revenge
noun (no plural)
something bad that you do to somebody who has done something bad to you:
He wants to take his revenge on his enemies.
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
revenge
I. re‧venge1 /rɪˈvendʒ/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable]
1. something you do in order to punish someone who has harmed or offended you
revenge for
She wanted revenge for the insult.
revenge against/on
At his wife’s funeral, he vowed revenge against her killer.
in revenge for something
a bomb attack in revenge for the imprisonment of the terrorists
2. the defeat of someone who has previously defeated you in a sport
revenge for
The Australians took revenge for their defeat here last time.
a revenge match
—revengeful adjective
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ take revenge He dreamed of taking revenge on his father’s killers.
▪ get (your) revenge Louise eventually got her revenge by reporting him to the immigration service.
▪ have your revenge One day I’ll have my revenge.
▪ seek revenge They play two women who seek revenge on their former partners.
▪ want revenge You broke her heart and now she wants revenge.
▪ exact/wreak revenge formal (=take revenge) He was exacting revenge on society.
▪ vow revenge (=promise to take revenge) His supporters vowed revenge for his death.
■ adjectives
▪ a terrible/awful revenge Caesar returned to Rome to exact a terrible revenge.
■ revenge + NOUN
▪ a revenge attack The camp was burned down, apparently in a revenge attack.
▪ a revenge killing Her death was followed by a series of revenge killings.
■ phrases
▪ an act of revenge The men were shot dead in an act of revenge for Khan’s assassination.
▪ revenge is sweet (=said when someone feels good because they have got revenge) It took me a long time, but revenge is sweet.
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
revenge
re·venge [revenge revenges revenged revenging] noun, verb [rɪˈvendʒ] [rɪˈvendʒ]
noun uncountable
1. something that you do in order to make sb suffer because they have made you suffer
• He swore to take (his) revenge on his political enemies.
• She is seeking revenge for the murder of her husband.
• The bombing was in revenge for the assassination.
• an act of revenge
• revenge attacks/killings
2. (sport) the defeat of a person or team that defeated you in a previous game
• The team wanted to get revenge for their defeat earlier in the season.
Word Origin:
late Middle English: from Old French revencher, from late Latin revindicare, from re- (expressing intensive force) + vindicare ‘claim, avenge’.
Thesaurus:
revenge noun U
• He swore to take revenge on his enemies.
retaliation • |formal vengeance • |written reprisal •
revenge/retaliation/vengeance/reprisals for sth
in revenge/retaliation/vengeance/reprisal
take revenge/vengeance on sb
want/vow/swear/exact/wreak revenge/vengeance
Which word? Revenge is the most general of these words. It often refers to a personal act that is done in response to sth that has been done to you personally. Retaliation and reprisals are often taken by a group, such as a military force, against another group who may not be responsible for the first crime
• They fear reprisals against aid workers in the region.
Vengeance is extreme, violent and often personal.
Example Bank:
• He vowed to take his revenge on the man who had killed his brother.
• Revenge is sweet, so they say.
• She desperately wanted to take revenge on her attacker.
• The accusations were driven by a desire for revenge.
• The attack was in revenge for the deaths of two loyalist prisoners.
• The bombing was an act of revenge for the shooting of two young boys.
• This was sweet revenge for our defeat earlier in the season.
• revenge for the insult
• taking revenge on her attacker
• He swore to take revenge on his political enemies.
• His death set off a series of revenge killings.
• The team wanted to get their revenge for their defeat earlier in the season.
• There were television appeals that acts of revenge should cease.
Derived: revenge yourself on somebody ▪ revenged on somebody
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition
revenge / rɪˈvendʒ / noun [ U ]
B2 harm done to someone as a punishment for harm that they have done to someone else:
She took/got/exacted (her) revenge on him for leaving her by smashing up his car.
He is believed to have been shot by a rival gang in revenge for the shootings last week.
© Cambridge University Press 2013
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary
revenge
[rɪve̱nʤ]
revenges, revenging, revenged
1) N-UNCOUNT: oft N on/for/against n Revenge involves hurting or punishing someone who has hurt or harmed you.
The attackers were said to be taking revenge on the 14-year-old, claiming he was a school bully...
The killings were said to have been in revenge for the murder of her lover.
2) VERB If you revenge yourself on someone who has hurt you, you hurt them in return. [WRITTEN]
[V pron-refl on n] Birmingham's Sunday Mercury accused her of trying to revenge herself on her former lover...
[V n] She would be killed by the relatives of murdered villagers wanting to revenge the dead.
Syn:
avenge
Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary
1re·venge /rɪˈvɛnʤ/ noun [noncount]
1 : the act of doing something to hurt someone because that person did something that hurt you
• an act of revenge
• She swore that she would have her revenge.
• She wants revenge against her enemies.
• He got his revenge.
• revenge attacks/killings
• He swore to take (his) revenge on his enemies. [=to harm his enemies]
• He is seeking revenge for his father's murder. [=he wants to harm the person who killed his father]
• The bombing was in revenge for the assassination of their leader.
2 : the act of defeating an opponent who has defeated you in the past
• The team is seeking revenge for the loss earlier in the season.
- re·venge·ful /rɪˈvɛnʤfəl/ adj [more ~; most ~]
