Vengeable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Capable of being avenged or subject to retribution for a wrong that has been committed
2. Susceptible to receiving punishment or retaliation in response to an offense or injury that has taken place
3. Able to be avenged, indicating that a response or compensation can be sought for a perceived wrongdoing

Etymology: "Vengeable" comes to English from Anglo-Norman, the form of French spoken and written in England after 1066. Its root is the verb "venger" ("to avenge"), which descends from Latin "vindicare," meaning to claim, lay claim to, or defend. The Latin verb is also the ancestor of "vindicate," and the two English words are related through the same root, though "vengeable" took its path through a Norman-French channel and arrived with a sense of retaliation rather than justification. The "-able" ending is the familiar suffix meaning "capable of being," so the word literally describes something that can be avenged, that is, an offense that can be answered with punishment. English has many similar pairs, such as "punishable" and "pardonable," which follow the same pattern of attaching "-able" to a verb to name a state of being open to an action.

Synonyms: revengeable, retaliable

Antonyms: forgivable, pardonable