Avenge or Revenge?
Avenge
or Revenge?
The two words were formerly
interchangeable, but have been differentiated now as they convey widely diverse
ideas. Avenge (noun) means to seek retribution on behalf of somebody else
(with the intent of justice) while revenge is seeking retribution for yourself.
Avenge
If you avenge a wrong or
harmful act, you hurt or punish the person (with the intent of justice) who is
responsible for it.
Example-
1) He vowed to avenge his
parents’ death.
(This
means he is seeking retribution on behalf of his parents, not for himself)
2) Avenge me if I die.
(Here
the narrator is seeking retribution on his behalf)
3) He saw himself as a Master
of the Universe, an avenger of wrongs.
Revenge
Revenge means
retaliation, satisfaction, resonance, reprisal etc. Revenge is more
personal, less concerned with justice and more about retaliation by inflicting
harm.
Revenge as noun (more
commonly used)
Revenge involves hurting or
punishing someone who has hurt or harmed you.
Example-
1) The prisoners took revenge
on their capitals.
2) The killings were said to
have been in revenge for the murder of their leader.
Revenge as verb
If you revenge yourself on
someone who has hurt you, you hurt them in return.
Example-
1) The relatives of murdered
villagers wanted to revenge the Dead.
2) She vowed to be revenged on
them all.
The noun revenge means
gaining satisfaction by harming someone in return for a wrongdoing suffered
at their hands. (The person seeking the revenge does not have to be the same
person inflicted by the wrongdoing (even though it usually is) but is the
person who gains satisfaction. Therefore, it is possible to achieve revenge
(i.e., to gain satisfaction) by avenging on behalf of another.)
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Exercise
Rewrite the following
sentences using the most suitable alternative:
1) Avenge / revenge means to
take vengeance on behalf of someone else.
Avenge means to take
vengeance on behalf of someone else.
2) I avenged / revenged my
father's murder by seeing that the killer went to jail.
I avenged my father's
murder by seeing that the killer went to jail.
3) The best avenge / revenge
in the world is success.
The best revenge in the
world is success.
4) Avenge / Revenge is
profitable.
Revenge is profitable.
5) I am seeking avenge / revenge
for my father's murder so that the killer suffers the same way my father did.
I am seeking revenge for my
father's murder so that the killer suffers the same way my father did.
6) Avenge / Revenge is the
dish best served cold.
Revenge is the dish best
served cold.
7) I am not one to take avenge
/ revenge. I leave it in the hands of the law.
I am not one to take
revenge. I leave it in the hands of the law.
8) I want to take avenge / revenge
on her.
I want to take revenge on
her.
9) He swore to take avenge / revenge
on his political enemies.
He swore to take revenge on
his political enemies.
10) He wants to take avenge / revenge
for his insult.
He wants to take revenge
for his insult.
11)
He
swore to avenge / revenge his friend’s insult.
He swore to avenge his
friend’s insult.
12)
The
husband avenged / revenged his wife's death by sending criminals behind the
bars.
The husband avenged his
wife's death by sending criminals behind the bars.
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