prevenge
/pɹɪˈvɛnd͡ʒ/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The act of taking, or an action taken against someone or something, ostensibly in retaliation for another act that has not yet been committed; pre-emptive action characterized as revenge.
Humorous; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Anticipating Wally's inevitable sarcasm, Boris let fly with a few cutting remarks in a stunning act of prevenge."
- "Prevenge: the act of getting one's retaliation in first."
- "They would go for what was jokingly tagged 'pre-venge'."
- "You aren't planning prevenge, are you? . . . You know, prevenge, the state of creating revenge before the need exists."
- "Excess is exhibited in these shows: by unruly woman Max and her "prevenge" rather than revenge logic . . ."
- "Obama also had to make amends as much as possible for Bush's aggressive philosophy of preemption, which really amounted to "prevenge"—getting back at someone he feared might even think about harming our nation before they could act."
Etymology
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /pɹɪˈvɛnd͡ʒ/