as in vindictive
likely to seek revenge
a vengeful person never lets go of a grudge
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of vengeful
The violence is compounded by a redundant frenzy of crosscutting, double-underlining the difference between Frank, a man of domestic leisure, and Vito, a jealous and vengeful killer.
—
Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 21 Mar. 2025
Then came the big reveal — Maddie isn’t actually dead, her body was merely hijacked by a vengeful spirit named Janet (Jess Gabor)!
—Andy Swift, TVLine, 19 Mar. 2025
He was cast in Merciless, an independent project about a vengeful head of the CIA, directed by Martin Villeneuve and produced by Christopher Tuffin.
—Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 19 Mar. 2025
The film presents Costello as a refined, thoughtful gentleman who masked his criminality with charitable causes and a respectable veneer, and Genovese as a vengeful, thuggish type who resorts to brutally violent means to achieve his ends.
—Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for vengeful
Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 21 Mar. 2025
Then came the big reveal — Maddie isn’t actually dead, her body was merely hijacked by a vengeful spirit named Janet (Jess Gabor)!
—Andy Swift, TVLine, 19 Mar. 2025
He was cast in Merciless, an independent project about a vengeful head of the CIA, directed by Martin Villeneuve and produced by Christopher Tuffin.
—Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 19 Mar. 2025
The film presents Costello as a refined, thoughtful gentleman who masked his criminality with charitable causes and a respectable veneer, and Genovese as a vengeful, thuggish type who resorts to brutally violent means to achieve his ends.
—Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for vengeful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vengeful
Adjective
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Either way, funding hydrogen in red states and not blue ones would be vindictive and un-American.—
Sammy Roth,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Apr. 2025
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However, not enough focus has been placed on the real actor behind this vindictive act: Trump.—
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld,
Time,
31 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Fans hoping for a revengeful scoring outburst were left wanting a little more, however, as Dončić — a career 28.6 points per game scorer — added only 10 points over the final three quarters.—
Rohan Nadkarni,
NBC News,
26 Feb. 2025
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Eventually, this revengeful streak will result in loneliness and isolation.—
Nicole Froio,
refinery29.com,
29 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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What's particularly cruel about that reality is that after years of dealing with questions about his weight, the former Duke Blue Devil star played a career-high 70 games in 2023-24.—
Bobby Krivitsky,
Forbes.com,
1 Apr. 2025
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As poor, lost, beautiful Dorian becomes more and more shallow and cruel—with only the portrait locked away in his attic reflecting the decay of his body and soul—Williams and Snook together locate Wilde’s evocation of a particularly insidious kind of societal cancer.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
27 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Softened by pride, Amber slinks away herself, albeit much more cutely than Gregory and accompanied by a vicious side-eye.—
Ile-Ife Okantah,
Vulture,
3 Apr. 2025
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Mikal, Tonya and Jason are vicious, screaming and hurling vile truths at one another.—
Murtada Elfadl,
Variety,
30 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Jose Velasquez-Martinez, 27, is charged with malicious wounding and murder in connection with 29-year-old Brandon Probst's death in Warrenton, according to the Fauquier County Sheriff's Office.—
Audrey Conklin,
FOXNews.com,
4 Apr. 2025
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There is evidence of motivated malicious actors abusing the 'verified account' to deceive users.—
Jon Brodkin,
ArsTechnica,
4 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Beauvais’ comments about fan support are likely in reference to the support she’s received when clashing with her castmates, as well as in season 12, when her teenage son experienced hateful online backlash.—
Jackie Strause,
The Hollywood Reporter,
25 Mar. 2025
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This group includes canola, corn, cottonseed, grapeseed, rice bran, soybean, safflower, and sunflower oils. Skepticism of the hateful eight stems from the production process of many seed oils, which uses mechanical or chemical treatment.—
Jack Knudson,
Discover Magazine,
20 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Andreas typically waits until there have been three instances of potential hostile communication before asking her friend or colleague if everything is OK.—
Angela Haupt,
Time,
28 Mar. 2025
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Home to one of the world’s largest refugee populations – most of them from Afghanistan – Pakistan has not always welcomed the foreigners, subjecting them to hostile living conditions and threatening deportation over the years.—
Sophia Saifi,
CNN Money,
28 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Mixed in with small pleasures and petty disputes with her older sister are true feats of survival and bravery.—
Lynette Rice,
Deadline,
22 Mar. 2025
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Gangs stop petty thievery in their own neighborhoods.—
Walter E Block,
Orange County Register,
22 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Vengeful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vengeful. Accessed 8 Apr. 2025.
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