Difference Between Avenge vs Revenge
As many words sound or appear similar, they often create a lot of confusion for people while speaking or writing. Many people are either confused or sometimes do not even know that there are significant differences between such words.
Avenge vs revenge is found among such pairs of words with almost the same sound and similar spellings but they do have distinctive differences in context and meaning. And to use these two words fittingly and accurately, it is necessary to study them.
This guide is prepared to show you the difference between revenge and avenge so you don’t have to doubt or get confused about them and their usage next time.
Definition of Avenge
Avenging is the act of punishing a person for the wrong they have done with the motive of seeking justice. Avenge portrays an action and therefore can only be used as a verb in a sentence. Unlike revenge, it is less personal and more concerned about obtaining justice for such a situation.
It suggests harming or punishing a particular person when another is looking to vindicate someone else other than for them. Let us see some examples:
- The man was avenged after the wicked man was sentenced
- “We are not interested in avenging her death,” her family said.
- Don’t worry. I will avenge all who are responsible for this unlawful act
- The police officer avenged his son’s death
Importantly, avenge pays more attention to obtaining retribution or justice rather than retaliation, and it is sometimes done on behalf of others.
Definition of Revenge
Revenge is a verb that refers to the act of harming someone in retaliation for their bad deeds. It simply refers to the harm or act of vengeance for the wrongs and bad deeds of someone. The goal or intent for revenge at most time is not channeled for justice but majorly for personal reasons or for the sake of vengeance. Let us see some examples of its application in sentences:
- We are ready to revenge (verb) our failures in our past games.
- Revenge is not as easy and fast as you think; we need to study the case first.
- After she summarized the story, the lady was so overwhelmed to get revenge (noun).
- We are ready to revenge (verb) the death of our father.
Revenge always arose from a feeling of resentment, anger, or hatred about the wrong of others, and it is the personal form of vengeance. A good illustration of that is from the first example above.
The team were not dangerously attacked or hurt by others, but they felt humiliated, and then they developed a strong will to seek revenge. Losing in such games is neither unlawful nor sinful, but their loss became a drive for anger.
Main Differences Between Avenge vs Revenge
Let us further with the significant difference between avenge and revenge in tabular form.
| Basis of Comparison | Avenge | Revenge |
| Definition | Punishing someone as an act of retributive justice | Refers to the act of harming someone in retaliation for the bad deeds, which was formally done by them. |
| Part of speech | It is an action word and can only be used as a verb | It can function as a verb and a noun. |
| Purpose | Less personal and it’s for justice | Mainly for vengeance and retaliation |
| Intent | Usually in a right or moral way | Not a respect to law or morality and might be attached with a strong-will |
Difference Between Avenge and Revenge: Conclusion
In conclusion, using revenge vs. avenge accurately in speech or writings require careful observation of the situation to choose the right word for the sentence. Sometimes, it is quite difficult to instantaneously detect the best fit between the two for a sentence.
However, a quick grammatical trick to detect or distinguish them is to know that revenge can be used as a noun and a verb while avenge can only function as a verb.
Finally, revenge is more desperate and strong-willed to return deeds and punishment than avenge. However, these two could mean a fight for what had been done wrongly, and with the differences above you can distinctively use them.
