Word.ws English Dictionary

prevenge

US/pɹɪˈvɛnd͡ʒ/

prevenge 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.

Noun

prevenge (uncountable)

  1. (humorous) 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.
    • 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.2007, Susie Dent, The Language Report, Oxford University Press, page 140

Examples of prevenge in a sentence

  • You aren't planning prevenge, are you? . . .2013, Jeff Ayers, Long Overdue, StoneHouse Ink, Chapter 3 (pages not numbered)
  • Excess is exhibited in these shows: by unruly woman Max and her "prevenge" rather than revenge logic . . .2015, Wendy A. Burns-Ardolino, TV Female Foursomes and Their Fans, McFarland, page 25:

Synonyms of prevenge

Origin of prevenge

Punning blend of pre- + revenge.

Questions about prevenge

What does prevenge mean?
Prevenge means 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.
How do you use prevenge in a sentence?
You aren't planning prevenge, are you? . . .
What part of speech is prevenge?
Prevenge is a noun.
How do you pronounce prevenge?
Prevenge is pronounced /pɹɪˈvɛnd͡ʒ/ (US).

Words near prevenge in the dictionary

  1. prevenancy
  2. prevenception
  3. prevene
  4. prevened
  5. prevenes
  6. prevenge
  7. prevenience
  8. preveniences
  9. prevenient
  10. prevenient grace
  11. preveniently

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: prevenge (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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