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Glite Dictionary
out for revenge

out for revenge

3 7.1
Wanting to punish someone for a wrong they did to you
  • idiom
translation icon : sediento de venganza
  • Feeling wronged by his colleagues, she was out for revenge and planned to expose their secrets.
  • really out for revenge

Basically came back out for revenge, went out a few weeks, got nicked in Bishops Ave.

Examples

  • After being betrayed, he became out for revenge against those who wronged him.

  • The villain in the movie was out for revenge after losing everything to the hero.

  • And now this Marta is out for revenge, is that it?

    Fiction book (1990)

  • He is out for revenge, and nothing is going to keep him from getting it.

    Blog text (29)

  • Basically came back out for revenge, went out a few weeks, got nicked in Bishops Ave.

    Terry Stone Connection

  • Wrongly convicted but recently released from prison, he's out for revenge on whoever framed him and killed his best friend.

    Blog text (15)

  • And he's not out for revenge, even though many of the headlines that came out of his press blitz—

    Blog text (4)

  • I can see where some would believe that Wisconsin is the biggest threat: they'll be out for revenge, Camp Randall is not a friendly environment for visitors, they've got a pretty good rushing defense, and Ohio State will be coming off a bye.

    Blog text (27)

Synonyms

vindictive
vsout for revenge
46 7.9

Wanting strongly to hurt someone who hurt you

is determined to act without necessarily being unreasonable
vengeful
vsout for revenge
37 6.9

Wanting to harm someone because they hurt you

is focused on determined action to get payback for a perceived wrong
spiteful
vsout for revenge
23 5.1

Wanting to hurt or upset someone on purpose

is more about determined payback than petty or general malice
on the warpath
vsout for revenge
  • Informal
7 7.9

Very angry and ready to punish someone who upset you

is focused specifically on planned payback rather than general anger
revengeful
vsout for revenge
2 5.8

Wanting to hurt someone who hurt you

is about determined action to get payback rather than mere inclination

Antonyms

to forgive
∞ 1.4

To stop feeling angry at someone or yourself for a mistake

to pardon
211 3.0

To forgive someone for a small mistake or rude act

How Vengeful

retaliatory
19 7.8
vengeful
37 6.9
out for revenge
3 7.1
resentful
36 5.4

Surface Forms

out for revenge positive

Morphology

out + for + revenge

The phrase combines literal words whose meanings point toward purpose ('for revenge') but relies on the phrasal pattern 'out for X' meaning 'seeking or intent on X' rather than a purely literal spatial 'out'. A B1 learner who knows the constituents can often infer the general idea of someone seeking retaliation, but the specific pragmatic sense of being intent/ready to retaliate depends on knowing the collocation, so it is not fully transparent.

Etymology

Out for revenge paints a simple picture: someone is out in the world hunting for revenge after being wronged. So it means 'determined to get back at someone'.