revenge

/ɹəˈvɛnd͡ʒ/

//ɹəˈvɛnd͡ʒ// noun

"revenge" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“revenge” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #4,484 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#4,484
frequency rank, English
7
letters
10
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any form of personal, retaliatory action against an individual, institution, or group for some alleged or perceived harm or injustice.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

revenge vs revere
71% similar
revenge vs revenue
86% similar
revenge vs reverse
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for revenge
PropertyValue
Headwordrevenge
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɹəˈvɛnd͡ʒ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#4,484
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “revenge” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). revenge lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for revenge is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɹəˈvɛnd͡ʒ/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,484 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for revenge, with forms such as "ervenge", "reevnge", and "revegne". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "revere", "revenue", "reverse", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French revenge, a derivation from revenger, from Old French revengier (possibly influenced by Old Occitan revènge (“revenge, comeback”), from Old Occitan revenir (“to come back”)), a variant of Middle French revancher (whence deverbal French rev… The correct English form is revenge, spelled R-E-V-E-N-G-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any form of personal, retaliatory action against an individual, institution, or group for some alleged or perceived harm or injustice.
  2. 2
    A win by a previous loser.

Etymology

From Middle French revenge, a derivation from revenger, from Old French revengier (possibly influenced by Old Occitan revènge (“revenge, comeback”), from Old Occitan revenir (“to come back”)), a variant of Middle French revancher (whence deverbal French revanche), from Old French revenchier. The variants Old French vengier (whence French venger) and Old French venchier are both descended from Latin vindicō, with stress-conditioned different parallel development in the inflectional forms. Doublet of revanche. Compare avenge and vengeance.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ervenge,reevnge,revegne,reveneg,revengge,revennge,revnege,revvenge,rrevenge,rveenge

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of revenge - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ervenge2reevnge2revegne2reveneg2revengge1revennge1revnege2revvenge1
Edit distance from "revenge"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "revenge"?
"revenge" is spelled R-E-V-E-N-G-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹəˈvɛnd͡ʒ/.
What does "revenge" mean?
As a noun, "revenge" means: Any form of personal, retaliatory action against an individual, institution, or group for some alleged or perceived harm or injustice.
What words are commonly confused with "revenge"?
"revenge" is commonly confused with "revere", "revenue", "reverse". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "revenge"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "revenge" is /ɹəˈvɛnd͡ʒ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "revenge"?
From Middle French revenge, a derivation from revenger, from Old French revengier (possibly influenced by Old Occitan revènge (“revenge, comeback”), from Old Occitan revenir (“to come back”)), a variant of Middle French revancher (whence deverbal ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “revenge”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is R-E-V-E-N-G-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ɹəˈvɛnd͡ʒ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “revere” - see the side-by-side comparison. revenge vs revere
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list