əˈvenj verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English avengen, probably from a- (as in abaten to abate) + vengen to avenge, from Old French vengier — more at vengeance
transitive verb
1. : to take vengeance for or on behalf of (oneself or another)
avenge , O Lord, thy slaughtered saints — John Milton
he avenged himself on his brother's killer
2. : to exact satisfaction for (a wrong) by punishing the injurer
though he always avenged an injury, he never bore malice for one — Charles Kingsley
intransitive verb
: to take vengeance
Synonyms:
avenge and revenge agree in meaning to punish a person who has wronged one or someone close to one. They are often used interchangeably but avenge more often suggests punishing a person when one is vindicating someone else than oneself or is serving the ends of justice, the suggestion of justice achieved being strong in any application of the word
after all, if other people's children do not like him, he can always avenge himself by disliking them twice as much — Robert Lynd
it was a son who would some day avenge his father — Charles Dickens
his wife … entered the gubernatorial campaign to avenge her husband — American Guide Series: Texas
revenge more often applies to vindicating oneself and usually suggests an evening up of scores or a personal satisfaction more than an achievement of justice, often connoting malice, spite, or vindictive retaliation
the novelist obsessed with the errors of his past … is irresistibly drawn to revenge himself on his past by rewriting it — C.J.Rolo
the hope of revenging himself on me was a strong inducement — Jane Austen