Standard Lemma guide

vindictiveness

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American: /vɪnˈdɪk.tɪv.nəs/
  • General-American: /vɪnˈdɪk.tɪv.nɪs/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: V IH0 N D IH1 K T IH0 V N AH0 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The condition of being vindictive; a malevolent desire for revenge.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: vindictivity

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a malevolent desire for revenge

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: vengefulness

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: malevolence, malignity

History

Etymology

From vindictive + -ness.

Across languages

Translations

12 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • French: revanchisme — a malevolent desire for revenge
  • Galician: revanchismo — a malevolent desire for revenge
  • Hungarian: bosszúvágy — a malevolent desire for revenge
  • Icelandic: hefndarþorsti — a malevolent desire for revenge
  • Italian: revanscismo — a malevolent desire for revenge
  • Plautdietsch: Trots — a malevolent desire for revenge
  • Polish: mściwość — a malevolent desire for revenge
  • Polish: złośliwość — a malevolent desire for revenge
  • Portuguese: revanchismo — a malevolent desire for revenge
  • Russian: мсти́тельность (mstítelʹnostʹ) — a malevolent desire for revenge
  • Spanish: revanchismo — a malevolent desire for revenge
  • Swedish: hämndlystnad — a malevolent desire for revenge