AVENGE.
Synonyms:
| punish, | retaliate, | revenge, | vindicate, | visit. |
Avenge and revenge, once close synonyms, are now far apart in meaning. To avenge is to visit some offense with punishment, in order to vindicate the righteous, or to uphold and illustrate the right by the suffering or destruction of the wicked. "And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian," Acts vii, 24. To revenge is to inflict harm or suffering upon another through personal anger and resentment at something done to ourselves. Avenge is unselfish; revenge is selfish. Revenge, according to present usage, could not be said of God. To retaliate may be necessary for self-defense, without the idea of revenge. Compare [REVENGE].
Prepositions:
Avenge on or upon (rarely, avenge oneself of) a wrong-doer.
AVOW.
Synonyms:
| knowledge, | aver, | confess, | own, | profess, | testify, |
| admit, | avouch, | declare, | proclaim, | protest, | witness. |