/ əˈvendʒ; NAmE / verb
[ vn ] avenge sth | avenge yourself on sb ( formal ) to punish or hurt sb in return for sth bad or wrong that they have done to you, your family or friends :
He promised to avenge his father's murder.
She was determined to avenge herself on the man who had betrayed her.
► aven·ger noun
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GRAMMAR
avenge / revenge
Avenge is a verb; revenge is (usually) a noun.
People avenge something or avenge themselves on somebody:
She vowed to avenge her brother's death.
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He later avenged himself on his wife's killers.
You take revenge on a person.
In more formal or literary English, revenge can also be a verb. People revenge themselves on somebody or are revenged on them (with the same meaning):
He was later revenged on his wife's killers.
You cannot revenge something: She vowed to revenge her brother's death.
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English : from Old French avengier , from a- (from Latin ad to) + vengier , from Latin vindicare vindicate.