vendetta
/vɛnˈdɛtə
/noun
1A blood feud in which the family of a murdered person seeks vengeance on the murderer or the murderer’s family.Every family cultivates its vendetta; every clan, its feud....
- That deadly combination has let loose a wave of vengeance killings, tribal vendettas, mercenary kidnappings and thievery.
- To reveal the offense would mean dragging his family into an obligatory vendetta.
1.1A prolonged bitter quarrel with or campaign against someone: he has accused the British media of pursuing a vendetta against him...
- There have been personal vendettas pursued that way, though they are rare.
- Too much space is devoted to accounts of Bajaj's family life and personal vendettas.
- Mr Obeid blamed a vendetta by two family members for the malicious stories circulating in the media.
Synonyms
feud, blood feud, quarrel, argument, falling-out, wrangle, clash, altercation, dispute, fight, war;
bad blood, bitterness, enmity, rivalry, conflict, discord, strife
informal tiff, scrap, spat, ruction, bust-up
Origin
Mid 19th century: from Italian, from Latin vindicta 'vengeance'.
Corsicans and Sicilians were the first to pursue vendettas. The word is Italian, and goes back to Latin vindicare ‘to claim, avenge’, the source revenge.