vendetta
Definitions
A long-running, bitter feud between families or groups, originally one involving blood revenge.
（家族或集团间）长期的血仇、世仇。
A prolonged, often obsessive personal campaign against someone.
针对某人的长期（常近乎执念的）报复、私怨。
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedBorrowed whole from Italian vendetta ('revenge'), which descends from Latin vindicta ('vengeance') — the same root as vindictive. Italian carried the meaning into 'blood feud': an inherited grudge between families, settled across generations. English took the word as-is, so it isn't built from English pieces; the whole form is the loan.
Root vindic still carries 6 more wordsWhy It Means This
Vendetta keeps the strongest 'blood' flavor of the whole family. In Corsica and Sicily it named the literal blood feud, where a killing obliged the victim's relatives to kill in return, on and on across generations. Modern English usually softens it to a figurative 'personal vendetta' — a sustained, almost obsessive campaign against someone, far beyond a single act of revenge.
Example Sentences
- 1.
The two families had carried on a vendetta for generations.
- 2.
He claimed the lawsuit was a personal vendetta against him.
- 3.
The reporter accused the official of waging a vendetta against critics.