vindictive

English

WOTD – 8 April 2010

Etymology

From Latin vindicta (“vengeance”) + -ive.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /vɪnˈdɪk.tɪv/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪktɪv

Adjective

vindictive (comparative more vindictive, superlative most vindictive)

1. Having a tendency to seek revenge when wronged, vengeful.
   • 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XXXIX, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 326:

     Lord Avonleigh was an angry rather than a vindictive man. Vindictiveness requires more energy of character than he possessed. Indeed, it may be questioned whether he would of himself have taken the violent measures of the preceding evening.

   • 1920 November 9, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter XVIII, in Women in Love, New York, N.Y.: Privately printed [by Thomas Seltzer] for subscribers only, →OCLC:

     The vindictive mockery in her voice made his brain quiver.

   • 1933 September, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, “Introduction: The Dream Book of Dr. Philip Raven”, in The Shape of Things to Come, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, →OCLC, page 5:

     The victors will exact vindictive penalties and the losers of course will undertake to pay, but none of them realizes that money is going to do the most extraordinary things to them when they begin upon that.

2. (obsolete) Punitive.

Synonyms

• vengeful, revengeful, nasty
• See also Thesaurus:vengeful

Derived terms

• vindictive protectiveness
• vindictively
• vindictiveness

Related terms

• vindicate
• vindication
• vindicator

Translations

having a tendency to seek revenge

• Armenian: վրեժխնդիր (hy) (vrežxndir), ոխակալ (hy) (oxakal), քինոտ (hy) (kʻinot)
• Belarusian: мсці́вы (mscívy), по́мслівы (pómslivy)
• Bulgarian: отмъсти́телен (bg) (otmǎstítelen)
• Czech: mstivý (cs), pomstychtivý (cs)
• Danish: hævngerrig (da)
• Dutch: rancuneus (nl), wraakzuchtig (nl)
• Finnish: kostonhaluinen (fi), kostonhimoinen
• French: vindicatif (fr), rancuneux (fr)
• Georgian: შურისმაძიებელი (šurismaʒiebeli), შურისმგებელი (šurismgebeli)
• German: rachsüchtig (de)
• Hungarian: bosszúszomjas (hu)
• Icelandic: hefnigjarn, heiftrækinn
• Ido: venjema (io), venjavida
• Irish: aifearach, agrach
• Italian: vendicativo (it)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: خوێنەخوێ (xwênexwê)

• Macedonian: одмазднички (odmazdnički), осветлив (osvetliv)
• Maori: whakamau, kaikiko, turatura, whakakaitoa
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: hevngjerrig (no)

• Plautdietsch: racheewent
• Polish: mściwy (pl), złośliwy (pl)
• Portuguese: vingativo (pt), vingador (pt)
• Romanian: vindicativ (ro), răzbunător (ro), dușmănos (ro), ranchiunos (ro)
• Russian: мсти́тельный (ru) (mstítelʹnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: dìoghaltach
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: осветољу̀бив

  Roman: osvetoljùbiv (sh)

• Slovak: pomstivý, pomstychtivý
• Slovene: maščevalen
• Spanish: vindicativo (es), vengativo
• Swedish: hämndlysten (sv)
• Ukrainian: мсти́вий (mstývyj)

Further reading

• “vindictive”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “vindictive”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “vindictive”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.