Avenge, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Avenged (p. pr. & vb. n. Avenging ( — Webster enters it under “avenge”
Etymology: [OF. avengier; L. ad + vindicare to lay claim to, to avenge, revenge. See Vengeance.]
1. To take vengeance for; to exact satisfaction for by punishing the injuring party; to vindicate by inflicting pain or evil on a wrongdoer. He will avenge the blood of his servants. Deut. xxxii. 43. Avenge, O Lord, thy slaughtered saints, whose bones Lie scattered on the Alpine mountains cold. Milton. He had avenged himself on them by havoc such as England had never before seen. Macaulay.
2. To treat revengefully; to wreak vengeance on. [Obs.] Thy judgment in avenging thine enemies. Bp. Hall.
Syn. -- To Avenge, Revenge. To avenge is to inflict punishment upon evil doers in behalf of ourselves, or others for whom we act; as, to avenge one's wrongs; to avenge the injuries of the suffering and innocent. It is to inflict pain for the sake of vindication, or retributive justice. To revenge is to inflict pain or injury for the indulgence of resentful and malicious feelings. The former may at times be a duty; the latter is one of the worst exhibitions of human character. I avenge myself upon another, or I avenge another, or I avenge a wrong. I revenge only myself, and that upon another. C. J. Smith.
2 other Webster entries under this spelling
Avenge, v. i.
To take vengeance. Levit. xix. 18.
Avenge, n.
Vengeance; revenge. [Obs.] Spenser.
Shades of meaning
Fernald has no entry of its own for avenging; he lists it under revenge.
Where he writes about it:
Avenging and retribution give a solemn sense of exact justice, avenging being more personal in its infliction, whether by God or man, and retribution the impersonal visitation of the doom of righteous law. — from revenge