a private feud in which the members of the family of a murdered person seek to avenge the murder by killing the slayer or one of the slayer's relatives, especially such vengeance as once practiced in Corsica and parts of Italy.
any prolonged and bitter feud, rivalry, contention, or the like: a political vendetta.
Origin of vendetta
1850–55; <Italian <Latin vindicta vengeance; see vindictive
The queen has a vendetta against the patriarchal royalty system—or how kings replace queens with younger and younger women.
Rival Studios In 'Snow White' Face-Off|Marlow Stern|June 2, 2011|DAILY BEAST
In that comprehensive interval he began to plot many things rendered natural by years of vendetta practice.
A Tatter of Scarlet|S. R. Crockett
Neither 'Vendetta,' nor 'Thelma,' nor 'Wormwood' is supernatural.
My First Book:|Various
The more aggressive clans slaughtered one another in the vendetta.
The Origin of Man and of his Superstitions|Carveth Read
Among them is the vendetta, which is practised by the Yu alone of all the people in the Far East.
China|Sir Henry Arthur Blake
Out-groups, however, sometimes made agreements with each other to limit blood revenge and vendetta.
Folkways|William Graham Sumner
British Dictionary definitions for vendetta
vendetta
/ (vɛnˈdɛtə) /
noun
a private feud, originally between Corsican or Sicilian families, in which the relatives of a murdered person seek vengeance by killing the murderer or some member of his family
any prolonged feud, quarrel, etc
Derived forms of vendetta
vendettist, noun
Word Origin for vendetta
C19: from Italian, from Latin vindicta, from vindicāre to avenge; see vindicate