A*venge" (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p.
p. Avenged (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n.
Avenging (&?;).] [OF. avengier; L. ad +
vindicare to lay claim to, to avenge, revenge. See
Vengeance.] 1. To take vengeance for; to exact
satisfaction for by punishing the injuring party; to vindicate by
inflicting pain or evil on a wrongdoer.
He will avenge the blood of his servants.
Deut. xxxii. 43.
Avenge, O Lord, thy slaughtered saints, whose
bones
Lie scattered on the Alpine mountains cold.
Milton.
He had avenged himself on them by havoc such as
England had never before seen.
Macaulay.
2. To treat revengefully; to wreak vengeance
on. [Obs.]
Thy judgment in avenging thine enemies.
Bp. Hall.
Syn. -- To Avenge, Revenge. To avenge is to
inflict punishment upon evil doers in behalf of ourselves, or others for
whom we act; as, to avenge one's wrongs; to avenge the
injuries of the suffering and innocent. It is to inflict pain for the sake
of vindication, or retributive justice. To revenge is to inflict
pain or injury for the indulgence of resentful and malicious feelings. The
former may at times be a duty; the latter is one of the worst exhibitions
of human character.
I avenge myself upon another, or I avenge
another, or I avenge a wrong. I revenge only myself, and that
upon another.
C. J. Smith.
A*venge", v. i. To take vengeance.
Levit. xix. 18.
A*venge", n. Vengeance; revenge.
[Obs.] Spenser.
