as in cruel
likely to seek revenge
be careful not to annoy the vindictive old woman who lives down the street
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Recent Examples of vindictive
What People Are Saying Jennifer Levi, a senior director at GLAD Law, an LGBTQ legal advocacy group, told Reuters: The directives coming out are vindictive and aggressive.
—
Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 May 2025
Paying clients knew how vindictive Trump could be and didn’t want to antagonize him, even if no one imagined that a tactic quite as effective as the executive orders would soon be deployed.
—Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 27 Mar. 2025
And vindictive organizations can and do continue retaliating, even years after a story has dropped off the front pages.
—Kate Kenny, The Conversation, 29 Apr. 2025
That’s despite the fact that both Trump and the MAGA movement are characterized by a vindictive, nostalgic, unapologetic misogyny.
—Constance Grady, Vox, 25 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for vindictive
Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 May 2025
Paying clients knew how vindictive Trump could be and didn’t want to antagonize him, even if no one imagined that a tactic quite as effective as the executive orders would soon be deployed.
—Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 27 Mar. 2025
And vindictive organizations can and do continue retaliating, even years after a story has dropped off the front pages.
—Kate Kenny, The Conversation, 29 Apr. 2025
That’s despite the fact that both Trump and the MAGA movement are characterized by a vindictive, nostalgic, unapologetic misogyny.
—Constance Grady, Vox, 25 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for vindictive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vindictive
Adjective
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Politics remains a cruel business and the governor has been on the frontline of it for nearly 20 years, winning and losing.—
Kevin Rennie,
Hartford Courant,
5 July 2025
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They were joined by actors playing the contestants, who lurched along wearing expressions of exaggerated horror, as though the cruel stakes of the game had just been revealed to them.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
4 July 2025
Adjective
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The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have antivirus software installed on all your devices.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
10 July 2025
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Deepfakes have been growing more sophisticated in recent years, in addition to being increasingly deployed for malicious purposes.—
Shannon Bond,
NPR,
10 July 2025
Adjective
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Fans of the first film will be delighted to find out the original team is reunited, with newcomers like Uma Thurman as the formidable Discord and Veronica Ngô as the vengeful Quynh added to the cast.—
Travis Bean,
Forbes.com,
4 July 2025
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So together with the return of the vengeful Quynh, The Old Guard 2 begins somewhat promisingly (there’s also an early action sequence that features some fun car-and-motorcycle stunts), but intent and execution are two different things, and the new film struggles to keep these balls in the air.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
2 July 2025
Adjective
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The author presents a vicious takedown of George Washington.—
Chadd Scott,
Forbes.com,
9 July 2025
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Stanton, demonstrating that there’s still plenty of power in his vicious swing, sent the pitch 401 feet the other way at 106.1 mph.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
9 July 2025
Adjective
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Fans hoping for a revengeful scoring outburst were left wanting a little more, however, as Dončić — a career 28.6 points per game scorer — added only 10 points over the final three quarters.—
Rohan Nadkarni,
NBC News,
26 Feb. 2025
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Eventually, this revengeful streak will result in loneliness and isolation.—
Nicole Froio,
refinery29.com,
29 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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Hoxton Grove Estate is shrouded in bad vibes, from Jess’s fighting neighbors — a group of women who have been, by turns, loving and hateful toward each other all season, their intensity coming to a head when one of them is seduced by the other’s boyfriend — to Felix’s lethargy.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
11 July 2025
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Being a private equity venture, Substack directly profits from its creators, hateful and hopeful alike.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
10 July 2025
Adjective
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Forced to work in a more hostile environment than.when it was first established in 2019, the mission faces limited options for evacuations due to the ongoing suspension of international commercial flights, and mobility, because of gangs’ ongoing gang encirclement of Port-au-Prince.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
14 July 2025
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From retail shops to corner bodegas and independent grocery stores, the past few years have not only forced small business owners to confront staggering economic challenges, but also a needlessly hostile regulatory environment brought on by out-of-touch policymakers.—
Tosha Miller,
New York Daily News,
12 July 2025
Adjective
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While Lian was staring in the mirror practicing her hows and lows and preparing for her future, Wenyu was sneaking out of prep class more and more frequently to pull petty pranks with her new boyfriend.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 July 2025
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Seventy-five years later, some of the Tribune’s criticisms seem petty.—
Ron Grossman,
Chicago Tribune,
25 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Vindictive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vindictive. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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