Vindictive

adj

adj ·3 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Having a tendency to seek revenge when wronged, vengeful.

    "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."

  2. 2
    Punitive. obsolete
Adjective
  1. 1
    showing malicious ill will and a desire to hurt; motivated by spite wordnet
  2. 2
    disposed to seek revenge or intended for revenge wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
avengefuldespitefuldespitefulgrimimplacableirreconcilable

Example

More examples

"He became quite vindictive after his wife left him."

Etymology

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

Related phrases

vindictive protectiveness

More for "vindictive"

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.