Have you ever felt the need to get even after being hurt or treated unfairly? It is normal to be angry and want to make the person who wronged you pay for it, but is that really what you should do?
Revenge and vengeance are two very different things, and it’s important to understand the difference before taking action. In this article, we will go over the definitions of revenge and vengeance, discuss the differences between the two terms, and look at some examples.
We will also talk about when it might be better to seek forgiveness rather than retribution. So what is the difference between revenge and vengeance? Let us find out!
What Is Vengeance?
Vengeance is about ensuring that justice is served and that the perpetrator of a crime or injustice is held accountable for their actions. Vengeance is about ensuring that justice is done to the victim, whether through restitution or punishment.
A person who seeks vengeance isn’t necessarily want to hurt the perpetrator; they’re only seeking retribution – a just punishment for what happened to them.
Vengeance often involves a higher authority determining the punishment for someone who has done wrong to you or someone else and then imposing that punishment through official channels.
For example, if someone breaks into another person’s house and steals their things, they would want the robber to be caught and put in jail. That’s justice- and even though justice doesn’t always feel like vengeance to those who receive it, it does feel like vengeance when someone who broke into their house goes to jail.
What Is Revenge?
Revenge is an act of retaliation against someone who has wronged another person. It is often motivated by anger and a desire to make the person who hurt them suffer. Revenge can be physical, such as hitting or kicking the person who hurt them, or it can be emotional, such as spreading rumors about the person or trying to ruin their reputation.
Revenge is often personal and directed at the person who harmed you, rather than at a higher authority. The problem with revenge is that it often leads to self-harm or harming others, which can make things worse than they already were.
For example, if a person get back at someone by starting rumors about them, they will likely fight back by creating more rumors about that person- and now everyone in school knows both sides of the story! This is not helpful to anyone involved- it only makes things worse.
Revenge Is an Act of Retaliation, Vengeance Is an Act of Retribution
Revenge is an act of retaliation. It means taking action against someone who has done something to you or someone close to you. You may have been wronged in some way, and now it is time for payback.
Revenge can be a physical or emotional reaction that makes the person who wronged someone regret their actions. Usually, a person is trying to hurt the other in some way- to make them feel the pain they have caused the former.
They may want to make them as angry or hurt as they felt, cause them physical pain, or damage their property. The goal is to get revenge and make the person regret their actions.
Vengeance, on the other hand, refers to the desire for retribution after you have been wronged. If you have been wronged by another person who has neither apologized nor offered compensation for their actions toward you or your family members, and that person continues to work against you, then vengeance would be justified.
With vengeance, your goal is usually more about making sure the person pays for their actions in some way. You may want them to get arrested or go to jail, lose their job, or lose their social standing. You’re less concerned with inflicting pain on the person and more concerned with punishing them for their actions.
For example, let’s say someone was robbed at gunpoint by another person. In this case, revenge would mean that the person would go after the robber. Vengeance would mean that they call the police on their mugger and then testify against them in court so the mugger gets convicted for their crime.
Revenge Is a Spontaneous Reaction, Vengeance Is Often Planned
Revenge is often an impulsive reaction, where you act because you’re angry or hurt and don’t think things through before you act. You may regret your decision later when you realize the consequences – and may even wish there had been another way to solve the problem.
Vengeance, on the other hand, is usually something that is planned. Instead of reacting impulsively, it’s a decision based on careful consideration of the options- usually to get back at someone who has wronged you in some way.
Revenge can be satisfying for some people because it makes them feel like they’ve gotten even with someone who hurt or disappointed them. However, it can also have negative consequences that are difficult to undo once they’ve occurred – such as legal trouble or reputational damage.
Vengeance may not be as satisfying as revenge at the moment, but it can be a more effective means of getting justice in the long run.
Revenge Is Destructive, Vengeance Can Be Constructive
Revenge is destructive. It involves taking an action that does not benefit you but harms the person who wronged you. Revenge is about punishing someone for a perceived slight or injustice, and that can be incredibly damaging to both parties involved.
When you seek revenge, it means that your goal is to cause pain to another person, not to make things better or solve a problem. It’s a negative action meant to cause harm to another person.
Vengeance, on the other hand, can be constructive. Vengeance is about righting a wrong- it’s not looking for ways to cause harm or pain, but working to correct injustice through positive actions that benefit everyone involved. When people seek vengeance they’re looking at how they can correct an injustice by making things right in some way.
Revenge Focuses on the Past, Vengeance Focuses on the Future
If you are seeking revenge, it is because something happened to you in the past. You are trying to get back at someone who hurt you or disrespects you. You may want to get revenge for specific wrongdoing or for an ongoing situation in which you feel you have been treated unfairly.
When we think about vengeance, we think of the future – of getting back at someone who has wronged us in some way (whether recently or in the distant past). Vengeance means seeking justice in a way that is meaningful today, but also ensures that justice will be served tomorrow and every day thereafter.
Revenge Leaves a Feeling of Bitterness and Anger, Vengeance Leaves a Feeling of Satisfaction and Vindication
Revenge is often fueled by bitterness and anger. When someone wrongs you, it’s only natural to feel these emotions. You want to hold the person who hurt you accountable and think that getting revenge will make you feel better. But that’s not always the case.
The desire for revenge often leads to more bitterness and anger, as well as feelings of resentment and self-pity. It can also damage relationships with the person you want to get revenge on and with others close to them.
On the other hand, vengeance can be a very satisfying feeling. It’s the feeling that justice has been served, that the person who wronged you must pay for their actions. It can provide a sense of closure and vindication.
Revenge Destroys Relationships, Vengeance Strengthens Them
If you want to take revenge, you’ve nothing else in mind but to take revenge. You don’t care about the consequences of your actions; you just want the person who wronged you to feel as bad as possible- and if they end up getting hurt, so be it. This kind of thinking often leads to violence, making it difficult for anyone to recover from their relationship with the person who wronged them.
Vengeance can strengthen relationships by helping people feel that they’re receiving justice for the wrongs done to them. Vengeance can also help people feel that they aren’t powerless in the face of injustice, and that can be very empowering. When people seek vengeance, they do so out of anger, but it’s controlled anger motivated by justice, not hatred.
When someone did you wrong, you can take vengeance on them in a way that doesn’t hurt anyone else- you can simply refuse to interact with them any further, or even remove yourself from them altogether. In doing so, you show the person that they’ve done something wrong without hurting others or affecting their relationships with others.
Revenge Often Leads to Regret, Vengeance Leads to Feelings of Empowerment and Righteousness
The problem with revenge is that it can lead to regret at a later time. When we take revenge on others for perceived wrongs, we often think about how much we want them to suffer now, rather than thinking about what our actions will mean for ourselves later, when we have time to reflect on things more clearly.
The problem with this is that when we have time to think about our actions (and their consequences), we may realize that the revenge was not worth all the pain, suffering, and damage it caused.
Vengeance, on the other hand, is usually carried out with a clear mind and a sense of justice. This means that we are more likely to feel empowered and righteous rather than we are to feel regretful or remorseful. We know that what we did was right, and we can feel good because we took action against those who wronged us.
When we take active steps toward vengeance rather than letting anger or despair consume us, we can channel our emotions into something productive that helps both others and ourselves.
Vengeance Is Often Delivered in an Indirect Way, Revenge Is More Likely to Be Direct and Aggressive
When you seek vengeance, you’re trying to get back at someone else for doing something that hurt you. However, this doesn’t necessarily involve hurting the person in the same way they hurt you.
This means that vengeance is often carried out in indirect or passive ways. You may be trying to ruin the other person’s reputation or make their life more difficult in some way, but you don’t want to hurt them directly.
Revenge is more direct than seeking vengeance. When you seek revenge on someone who wronged you, you’re not just trying to get back at them for hurting your feelings; instead, you’re trying to make sure they pay in some way for what they did. This may mean becoming aggressive or violent or sabotaging something they care about (like their work or relationships).
Vengeance Is a Passive Act, Revenge Is an Active Act
A vengeance is a passive act: it’s something that happens to you without any action on your part. If you feel that someone has wronged you, vengeance can be a way of giving them justice without doing anything in return.
You may feel that there’s nothing you can do but make the person pay for their wrongdoing – but that’s not true! There are other ways to get back at someone than just letting them know that what they did was wrong.
Revenge, on the other hand, is an active act: you take action in order to get back at someone. This can be anything from confrontation (such as arguing with the person) to more subtle methods (such as sabotaging their work or spreading rumors about them). Whatever method you choose, the important thing is to actively make the person pay for their actions.
Revenge Usually Lasts Only a Short Time, Vengeance Can Last for Many Years or Even a Lifetime
Vengeance is usually a longer-term process than revenge. This is because the person seeking vengeance has to go through the steps of getting angry at the offender, deciding what to do about it, and then taking action.
The person who is seeking revenge, on the other hand, may only have to go through one step: getting angry. They may not even have time to decide what their next move should be before they take their anger out on their abuser.
Another reason why vengeance can last much longer than revenge has to do with forgiveness. When someone seeks vengeance, the original wrong often comes back to them from time to time, which can make it difficult for them to forgive not only themselves but others who may have wronged them during their lives.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the root of revenge?
The root of revenge is anger– the emotion people feel when they feel they have been wronged or hurt by another person. They want the person who hurt them to feel bad in return, so they become angry and hurtful themselves (which is where the “eye for an eye” punishment comes from). This cycle continues until one side stops retaliating against the other, perhaps because they realize how pointless it all is!
How to get rid of revenge feelings?
Revenge is one of those things that can feel so good at first, but can lead to a bad feeling later. So how do you get rid of these feelings of revenge?
First of all, don’t beat yourself up about feeling this way. Everyone has them from time to time. It just means that you are human!
Now let us talk about how you can deal with these feelings and move on without holding on to them for too long.
Talk about it with someone close to you who will listen to you and help you deal with it (your mom or dad, a sibling, a best friend). You can also try writing down your feelings in a journal – that’s a good way to process them and let them go!
Think about why this person hurt you in the first place. Is there anything they could have done differently or better? If so, what could that have looked like? Can you think of anything they could have done to avoid hurting you?
Is the person aware that they hurt you? Or are they oblivious to the pain they caused? Are there ways they could show remorse for their actions? How would you feel better if you were in their shoes right now? How would you want them to make things right?
Focus on the positive things in your life that have nothing to do with the person who hurt you. It’s easy to dwell on the negative when something bad happens, but try to take a step back and remember all the good things in your life, too.
Make a list of things you’re grateful for and refer to that list often. This will help you shift your focus from the negative to the positive and remind you that there’s more to life than that one hurtful event.
Forgive yourself first. This is probably the most important thing you can do. If you hold anger and resentment toward yourself, it will be very difficult to let go of those feelings toward the other person. So, first things first: forgive yourself for the part you played in the situation, and then work on forgiving the other person.
Remember that revenge may seem satisfying at the moment, but in the long run, it may only makes things worse. Not to mention, it’s not worth the trouble or legal problems you might get into!
Focus on healing and moving on. This is your chance to start over and take care of yourself. Use this opportunity to do things that make you happy and don’t let the person who hurt you have any power over your happiness.
By following these steps, you will be well on your way to letting go of those revenge feelings and moving on with your life. Just remember to take things one day at a time and be patient with yourself. It takes time to heal from hurt, but it’s worth it in the end!
Conclusion
Revenge is when a person seeks retaliation for a wrong that has been committed against them. This is often an impulsive act that can lead to further violence and chaos. It is a more deliberate response that can be emotionally satisfying but does not always lead to positive outcomes.
Vengeance, on the other hand, is a calculated action taken to harm someone who has harmed you in some way. Hopefully, this article has helped you understand the difference between these two concepts.
