vindictive

English

WOTD – 8 April 2010

Etymology

From Latin vindicta (“vengeance”), from vindico (“claim, vindicate”), from vindex (“defender”), +‎ -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], Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), OCLC 630079698, 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, D. H. Lawrence, chapter 18, in Women in Love‎^[1]:

     The vindictive mockery in her voice made his brain quiver.

   • 1933, H. G. Wells, The Shape of Things to Come‎^[2]:

     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

• vindictively
• vindictiveness

Related terms

• vindicate
• vindication
• vindicator

Translations

having a tendency to seek revenge

• Armenian: վրեժխնդիր (hy) (vrežxndir), ոխակալ (hy) (oxakal), քինոտ (hy) (kʿinot)
• Bulgarian: отмъстителен (bg) (otmǎstitelen)
• Czech: mstivý m, pomstychtivý m
• Danish: hævngerrig
• 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 m, heiftrækinn m
• Ido: venjema (io), venjavida
• Irish: aifearach, agrach

• Italian: vendicativo (it)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: خوێنەخوێ‎ (xwênexwê)

• Maori: whakamau, kaikiko, turatura, whakakaitoa
• Plautdietsch: racheewent
• Polish: mściwy (pl), złośliwy (pl) m
• Portuguese: vingativo (pt), vingador (pt)
• Romanian: vindicativ (ro), răzbunător (ro), dușmănos (ro) m, ranchiunos (ro) m
• Russian: мсти́тельный (ru) (mstítelʹnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: dìoghaltach
• Spanish: vindicativo (es), vengativo
• Swedish: hämndlysten (sv)

Further reading

• vindictive in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• vindictive in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
• vindictive at OneLook Dictionary Search