What does vendetta mean?
A vendetta is a bitter, long-running feud, especially one involving revenge between rival families, groups, or individuals. The term carries a strong implication of retaliation, suggesting that each side may respond to the other's hostility with further hostility in a cycle that becomes difficult to end. Although traditionally associated with family and community disputes, modern usage also applies the word to political campaigns, institutional hostility, and personal crusades against a person. It is more forceful and emotionally charged than a simple disagreement, and more specific than revenge alone because it usually describes an ongoing conflict rather than a single retaliatory act. The word can be used literally, but it may also be rhetorical when a speaker is portraying an opponent's actions as excessively hostile or vindictive. Its association with Italian culture and Giuseppe Verdi's Rigoletto has helped give it a vivid cultural reputation.
nounA prolonged and bitter feud or campaign of revenge, especially one between rival families or groups.
- A long-standing, bitter feud, especially between rival families or groups.
- A sustained act or campaign of retaliatory revenge directed against a person or organization.
"The dispute developed into a bitter vendetta that divided the entire community."
"Years of mutual suspicion had turned the dispute into a bitter vendetta."
"The newspaper accused the mayor of conducting a personal vendetta against his critics."
The standard plural is vendettas.
"The novel recounts two rival vendettas spanning several generations."
Vendetta entered English from Italian, but its most famous musical echo is the title aria in Verdi's Rigoletto.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does vendetta come from?
The word comes from Italian vendetta, meaning a blood feud or act of revenge, and entered English during the 19th century. Its ultimate Latin source is vindicare, “to avenge or defend,” from which English words such as vindicate, vindictive, and vindication also derive. The modern sense broadened from family-based revenge to any prolonged and retaliatory feud.
Related word forms
How vendetta is actually used
Traditionally conveys revenge rooted in a family or community conflict, though modern usage can describe political, institutional, or personal retaliation. It is usually formal and strongly negative; the word implies prolonged animosity and a cycle of retaliation rather than an ordinary disagreement.