----------
synonyms AVENGE and
REVENGE agree in meaning to punish a person who has wronged one or someone close to one. They are often used interchangeably but:
AVENGE more
often suggests punishing a person when one is
vindicating someone else
than oneself or is serving the ends of justice, the suggestion of
justice achieved being strong in any application of the word <after
all, if other people's children do not like him, he can always
avenge himself by disliking them twice as much -- Robert Lynd> <it was a son who would some day
avenge his father -- Charles Dickens> <his wife ... entered the gubernatorial campaign to
avenge her husband --
American Guide Series: Texas>
REVENGE more
often applies to
vindicating oneself and usually suggests an evening up
of scores or a
personal satisfaction more than an achievement of
justice, often connoting malice, spite, or vindictive retaliation
<the novelist obsessed with the errors of his past ... is
irresistibly drawn to
revenge himself on his past by rewriting it -- C.J.Rolo> <the hope of
revenging himself on me was a strong inducement -- Jane Austen>
http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com
---------