the act of taking revenge (harming someone in retaliation for something harmful that they have done) especially in the next life "Vengeance is mine I will repay, saith the Lord"--Romans 12:19 "For vengeance I would do nothing. This nation is too great to look for mere revenge"--James Garfield "he swore vengeance on the man who betrayed him" "the swiftness of divine retribution"