as in cruel
likely to seek revenge
be careful not to annoy the vindictive old woman who lives down the street
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Recent Examples of vindictive
And if one of the two people who could be president is both vindictive and susceptible to flattery — and in charge of appointing people who decide how to spend billions in federal contracts — why not butter him up a little bit?
—
Gaby Del Valle, The Verge, 31 Oct. 2024
The Greek gods are famous for their uncontrollable lust, and amusingly petty, vindictive punishments inflicted on those unfortunate enough to insult them.
—Dani Di Placido, Forbes, 14 Oct. 2024
Though whether that can be achieved with the participation of notoriously bitter and vindictive Hasina is a huge question.
—Charlie Campbell, TIME, 3 Oct. 2024
As the presidential candidates head into the most heated phase of the election year so far, former President Donald Trump has made a distinctive shift in tone on his Truth Social profile, lashing out in increasingly vulgar, misogynistic and vindictive posts.
—Ben Kamisar, NBC News, 30 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for vindictive 
Gaby Del Valle, The Verge, 31 Oct. 2024
The Greek gods are famous for their uncontrollable lust, and amusingly petty, vindictive punishments inflicted on those unfortunate enough to insult them.
—Dani Di Placido, Forbes, 14 Oct. 2024
Though whether that can be achieved with the participation of notoriously bitter and vindictive Hasina is a huge question.
—Charlie Campbell, TIME, 3 Oct. 2024
As the presidential candidates head into the most heated phase of the election year so far, former President Donald Trump has made a distinctive shift in tone on his Truth Social profile, lashing out in increasingly vulgar, misogynistic and vindictive posts.
—Ben Kamisar, NBC News, 30 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for vindictive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vindictive
Adjective
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And having more thoughtful conversations doesn’t preclude the need sometimes to confront those who are needlessly cruel or organizations that benefit from such exploitation.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
18 Jan. 2025
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In recent months, the Justice Department and the state filed thousands of pages of new records in the lawsuit, including reports and sworn statements from pediatricians, scholars and others who describe Florida’s policies as archaic and cruel.—
Carol Marbin Miller,
Miami Herald,
17 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Ultimately, the debate over the ability of malicious hackers to trigger a continent-wide blackout is moot and a distraction from the issue that really matters.—
Dan Goodin,
Ars Technica,
23 Jan. 2025
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Android users can also keep Google Play Protect enabled to scan for malicious code—even on sideloaded apps.—
Kate Irwin,
PCMAG,
22 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Location Nestled in the coastal county of Suffolk, Lavenham is a tiny medieval village—once one of the wealthiest towns in Britain with its thriving 15th-century wool trade and a site of vengeful witch hunters like Matthew Hopkins.—
Lewis Nunn,
Forbes,
20 Jan. 2025
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This time the duo battle A.I., sort of: Wallace invents a smart gnome that goes from helpful to evil real quick and Gromit helps figure out which figure beyond the gnome is responsible for this vengeful turn.—
Savannah Salazar,
Vulture,
31 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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But Canadian model and actress Kat Pasion, whose credits include Altered Carbon, The Flash and Nancy Drew, appears in the ID series to help corroborate the vicious abuse and assaults that Ventura allegedly endured and chronicled in her landmark civil suit.—
Etan Vlessing,
The Hollywood Reporter,
23 Jan. 2025
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Combined with a vicious splitter, which is one of the best in the world right now, Sasaki has proved unstoppable at times.—
Jamie Barton,
CNN,
23 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Eventually, this revengeful streak will result in loneliness and isolation.—
Nicole Froio,
refinery29.com,
29 Oct. 2024
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Artemis was revengeful toward anyone who trespassed in wild nature, and trespassing could mean neglect, like not paying your dues.—
Robert Sullivan,
Vogue,
20 June 2023
Adjective
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Garvey’s legacy has been complicated, especially due to his sometimes hateful and violent rhetoric against Jews, white people, Catholics, and other groups.—
Brady Knox,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
19 Jan. 2025
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The settlement, announced by the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, requires Rutgers to take a series of actions to combat discrimination on campus after 400 reports of hateful incidents on campus were filed between July 2023 and June 2024.—
Fox News Staff,
Fox News,
16 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Instead, she was hounded out of the classroom by authorities hostile to Western literature.—
Arash Azizi,
The Atlantic,
26 Jan. 2025
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Last year, Trump's predecessor Joe Biden fired the inspector general of the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, after an investigation found the official had created a hostile work environment.—
Riley Beggin,
USA TODAY,
25 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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But the smoke is still rising, and petty partisanship is a distraction and disservice at the moment, given all that’s been lost, and all the hard work of moving forward.—
Steve Lopez,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Jan. 2025
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In an era of steadily declining trust in media, the dry formalities of a legal template provide not only an imprimatur of institutional credibility, but also the freedom to go into extreme amounts of detail without seeming petty, tedious or self-indulgent.—
Eleanor Hawkins,
Axios,
9 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near vindictive
Cite this Entry
“Vindictive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vindictive. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.
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