Synonyms for vengeance
Most common
All synonyms
Noun
1. Revenge
retribution, retaliation, reprisal, payback, revenge dated
Other
wreak dated, avengement rare
Definitions
- n. 1
Revenge taken for an insult, injury, or other wrong.
Related words
Forms
- Plural
- vengeances → retributions, retaliations, reprisals, paybacks…
Choose the right word
Vengeance, which once meant an indignant vindication of justice, now signifies the most furious and unsparing revenge. Revenge emphasizes more the personal injury in return for which it is inflicted, vengeance the ill desert of those upon whom it is inflicted.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- retaliation Threats of retaliation are blocking negotiations.
- retribution You can make your choice freely without fear of retribution.
- payback It's payback for wrongdoing in a previous life.
- reprisal General Jackson vowed a reprisal for the death of his men.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| vengeance | rising | |
| retaliation | rising | |
| retribution | rising | |
| payback | rising | |
| reprisal | falling |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 5 letters
- wreak1
- 7 letters
- revenge2, payback2
- 8 letters
- reprisal3
- 10 letters
- avengement
- 11 letters
- retaliation5, retribution4
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (revenge2 = 2 syllables).