SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
vindictive
adjective
Eager to take revenge for a perceived wrong.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Seeking revenge
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topVindictive adds a desire to hurt in return for a wrong. Malicious need not involve retaliation; resentful describes bitterness, and punitive concerns punishment without necessarily implying personal revenge.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See vindictive in use
The novel's vindictive landlord tries to punish every critic.
A vindictive regent in an invented island story seeks to humiliate a mapmaker who publicly questioned the accuracy of his official map.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license