Avenge and revenge, once close synonyms, are now far apart in meaning. To avenge is to visit some offense with punishment, in order to vindicate the righteous, or to uphold and illustrate the right by the suffering or destruction of the wicked.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

revenge I'll take my revenge on him at all costs tomorrow.
retaliate How can you be so passive? Why don't you retaliate?
spite He will not change his mind in spite of my advice.
punish People punish petty thieves but love big thieves.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
avenge		rising
revenge		rising
retaliate		rising
requite		steady
spite		falling

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

5 letters: right¹, visit², spite¹, repay²
6 letters: punish²
7 letters: revenge², requite, bewreak
9 letters: retaliate⁴, vindicate³

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (visit² = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français: venger
Italiano: vendicare
Deutsch: rächen