vengeance
noun
ven·geance
ˈven-jən(t)s 
: punishment inflicted in retaliation for an injury or offense : retribution
Synonyms
Examples of vengeance in a Sentence
He thought briefly of the long-dead woman bound to this stone in 1654 and burnt alive as a witch. And for what? An over-sharp tongue, delusions, mental eccentricity, to satisfy a private vengeance, the need for a scapegoat in times of sickness or the failure of a harvest, or perhaps as a sacrifice to propitiate a malignant unnamed god?
—
P. D. James, The Private Patient, 2008
Unlike the type of cannibalism much of the world had come to know—among desperate explorers, marooned sailors, and victims of famine—the Cinta Larga's consumption of human flesh was born not out of necessity but out of vengeance and an adherence to tribal traditions and ceremony.
—Candice Millard, The River of Doubt, 2005
As it turns out, police crackdowns in the 1990's did not so much destroy Los Angeles street gangs as temporarily displace them to Central America. Soon they returned with a vengeance; gang-related homicide rose 50 percent between 1999 and 2002.
—Richard Brookhiser, New York Times Book Review, 9 Jan. 2005
He is trying to do in his corner of Texas what death-penalty opponents say is impossible: enforce capital punishment flawlessly, ensuring that the innocent never spend a day on death row and the guilty are sent there only after trials free of bias and vengeance.
—John Cloud, Time, 14 July 2003
A holy war may be launched to root out terrorism, but its form must be a punitive crusade, an angry god's vengeance exacted upon sinners, since no proper war can exist when there is no recognition of the other's list of grievances, no awareness of the relentless dynamic binding the powerful and powerless.
—John Edgar Wideman, Harper's, March 2002
The fire was set as an act of vengeance.
Angry protesters wanted to inflict vengeance on the killer.
P. D. James, The Private Patient, 2008
Unlike the type of cannibalism much of the world had come to know—among desperate explorers, marooned sailors, and victims of famine—the Cinta Larga's consumption of human flesh was born not out of necessity but out of vengeance and an adherence to tribal traditions and ceremony.
—Candice Millard, The River of Doubt, 2005
As it turns out, police crackdowns in the 1990's did not so much destroy Los Angeles street gangs as temporarily displace them to Central America. Soon they returned with a vengeance; gang-related homicide rose 50 percent between 1999 and 2002.
—Richard Brookhiser, New York Times Book Review, 9 Jan. 2005
He is trying to do in his corner of Texas what death-penalty opponents say is impossible: enforce capital punishment flawlessly, ensuring that the innocent never spend a day on death row and the guilty are sent there only after trials free of bias and vengeance.
—John Cloud, Time, 14 July 2003
A holy war may be launched to root out terrorism, but its form must be a punitive crusade, an angry god's vengeance exacted upon sinners, since no proper war can exist when there is no recognition of the other's list of grievances, no awareness of the relentless dynamic binding the powerful and powerless.
—John Edgar Wideman, Harper's, March 2002
The fire was set as an act of vengeance.
Angry protesters wanted to inflict vengeance on the killer.
Recent Examples on the Web
The trailer shows the origins of de Armas’ Eve, who’s on her own quest for vengeance.
—Mckinley Franklin, Variety, 26 Sep. 2024
Pedro Pascal plays a Roman general whom Lucius holds a desire for vengeance against.
—Tommy McArdle, Peoplemag, 23 Sep. 2024
As for vengeance: Within roughly a day of Harris’s outfoxing Trump at their first debate, a link Swift posted to Instagram sent more than 400,000 visitors to a federal website directing people to register to vote.
—Christine Emba, The Atlantic, 13 Sep. 2024
On their wedding night, Sigrid and Leif survive a wrath of terror from Thor (Pilou Asbæk), which sets them — and a crew of crusaders — on an against all odds and merciless mission for vengeance.
—Vlada Gelman, TVLine, 12 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for vengeance 
Mckinley Franklin, Variety, 26 Sep. 2024
Pedro Pascal plays a Roman general whom Lucius holds a desire for vengeance against.
—Tommy McArdle, Peoplemag, 23 Sep. 2024
As for vengeance: Within roughly a day of Harris’s outfoxing Trump at their first debate, a link Swift posted to Instagram sent more than 400,000 visitors to a federal website directing people to register to vote.
—Christine Emba, The Atlantic, 13 Sep. 2024
On their wedding night, Sigrid and Leif survive a wrath of terror from Thor (Pilou Asbæk), which sets them — and a crew of crusaders — on an against all odds and merciless mission for vengeance.
—Vlada Gelman, TVLine, 12 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for vengeance
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'vengeance.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near vengeance
Cite this Entry
“Vengeance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vengeance. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.
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vengeance
noun
ven·geance
ˈven-jən(t)s
: punishment given in return for an injury or offense : retribution
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