Vengeance

How to spell vengeance

9 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce vengeance

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does vengeance mean?

1. nounPunishment or harm inflicted in retaliation for a wrong or injury.

Vengeance in a sentence

• The novel follows a widow who plots vengeance against the men who ruined her family.

• Investigators believe the arson was an act of vengeance after the business dispute.

Where does vengeance come from?

Language of origin: French

This word came into English from Old French vengeance, a noun built on the verb venger, meaning 'to take revenge' or 'to avenge'. The French verb descended from the Latin vindicare, which originally meant 'to lay legal claim to' or 'to set free', and only later shifted toward the harsher sense of 'to punish' or 'to avenge'. English adopted vengeance in the early 1300s, keeping the French spelling almost untouched, which is why the soft central 'g' is followed by an 'e' before the ending. The same Latin vindicare root also gave us 'vindicate' and 'vindictive', which makes a handy memory anchor for the family. The trickiest part of the spelling is that unstressed middle: it reads as a faint 'jance' but is written 'geance', with the silent 'e' that the French original demands.

How the word is built

• venge- (to avenge, from Latin vindicare 'to claim, punish')
• -ance (noun-forming suffix)