Vindictive

• POS: Adjective
• HYPHEN: vin=dic=tive

CIDE DICTIONARY

Vindictive, a. [For vindicative, confused with L. vindicta revenge, punishment, fr. vindicare to vindicate. Cf. Vindicative.].

•  Disposed to revenge; prompted or characterized by revenge; revengeful.  [1913 Webster]

  "I am vindictive enough to repel force by force."  [1913 Webster]
•  Punitive.  [1913 Webster]

Vindictive damages. (Law) See under Damage, n.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Vindictive, adj.
1 tending to seek revenge.
2 spiteful.

Idiom

vindictive damages Law damages exceeding simple compensation and awarded to punish the defendant.

Derivative

vindictively adv. vindictiveness n.

Etymology

L vindicta vengeance (as VINDICATE)

ROGET THESAURUS

Vindictive

Irascibility

N irascibility, irascibleness, temper, crossness, susceptibility, procacity, petulance, irritability, tartness, acerbity, protervity, pugnacity, excitability, bad temper, fiery temper, crooked temper, irritable, temper, genus irritabile, hot blood, ill humor, asperity, churlishness, huff, a word and a blow, Sir Fretful Plagiary, brabbler, Tartar, shrew, vixen, virago, termagant, dragon, scold, Xantippe, porcupine, spitfire, fire eater, fury, irascible, bad-tempered, ill-tempered, irritable, susceptible, excitable, thin-skinned, fretful, fidgety, on the fret, hasty, overhasty, quick, warm, hot, testy, touchy, techy, tetchy, like touchwood, like tinder, huffy, pettish, petulant, waspish, snappish, peppery, fiery, passionate, choleric, shrewish, sudden and quick in quarrel, querulous, captious, moodish, quarrelsome, contentious, disputatious, pugnacious, cantankerous, exceptious, restiff, churlish, cross, cross as crabs, cross as two sticks, cross as a cat, cross as a dog, cross as the tongs, fractious, peevish, acari=atre, in a bad temper, sulky, angry, resentful, resentive, vindictive, Int, pish!, a vieux comptes nouvelles disputes, quamvis tegatur proditur vultu furor, vino tortus et ira.

Revenge

N revenge, revengement, vengeance, avengement, avengeance, sweet revenge, vendetta, death feud, blood for blood retaliation, day of reckoning, rancor, vindictiveness, implacability, malevolence, ruthlessness, avenger, vindicator, Nemesis, Eumenides, revengeful, vengeful, vindictive, rancorous, pitiless, ruthless, rigorous, avenging, unforgiving, unrelenting, inexorable, stony-hearted, implacable, relentless, remorseless, aeternum servans sub pectore vulnus, rankling, immitigable, manet ciratrix, manet alid mente repostum, dies irae dies illa, in high vengeance there is noble scorn, inhumanum verbum est ultio, malevolus animus abditos dentes habet, now infidel I have thee on the hip.