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Webster 1913 Edition


Avenge

A-venge′

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Avenged
([GREEK]);
p. pr. & vb. n.
Avenging
([GREEK]).]
[OF.
avengier
; L.
ad
+
vindicare
to lay claim to, to avenge, revenge. See
Vengeance
.]
1.
To take vengeance for; to exact satisfaction for by punishing the injuring party; to vindicate by inflicting pain or evil on a wrongdoer.
He will
avenge
the blood of his servants.
Deut. xxxii. 43.
Avenge
, O Lord, thy slaughtered saints, whose bones
Lie scattered on the Alpine mountains cold.
Milton.
He had
avenged
himself on them by havoc such as England had never before seen.
Macaulay.
2.
To treat revengefully; to wreak vengeance on.
[Obs.]
Thy judgment in
avenging
thine enemies.
Bp. Hall.
Syn. – To
Avenge
,
Revenge
.
To avenge is to inflict punishment upon evil doers in behalf of ourselves, or others for whom we act;
as, to
avenge
one’s wrongs; to
avenge
the injuries of the suffering and innocent
. It is to inflict pain for the sake of vindication, or retributive justice. To revenge is to inflict pain or injury for the indulgence of resentful and malicious feelings. The former may at times be a duty; the latter is one of the worst exhibitions of human character.
I
avenge
myself upon another, or I
avenge
another, or I
avenge
a wrong. I
revenge
only myself, and that upon another.
C. J. Smith.

A-venge′

,
Verb.
I.
To take vengeance.
Levit. xix. 18.

A-venge′

,
Noun.
Vengeance; revenge.
[Obs.]
Spenser.

Definition 2024


avenge

avenge

English

Noun

avenge (plural avenges)

  1. A vengeance; a revenge.

Verb

avenge (third-person singular simple present avenges, present participle avenging, simple past and past participle avenged)

  1. (transitive) To take vengeance (for); to exact satisfaction for by punishing the injuring party; to vindicate by inflicting pain or evil on a wrongdoer.
    to avenge the murder of his brother
    • Milton
      Avenge, O Lord, thy slaughtered saints, whose bones / Lie scattered on the Alpine mountains cold.
  2. (intransitive, obsolete) To take vengeance.
    • 1611, Bible (KJV), Leviticus 19:18:
      Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.
  3. (archaic) To treat revengefully; to wreak vengeance on.
    • Bishop Hall
      thy judgment in avenging thine enemies

Synonyms

Translations

Anagrams