countervengeance means vengeance taken in reaction to earlier vengeance. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 83 out of 100.
Why “countervengeance” is a great word
COUNTERVENGEANCE — [Noun] Vengeance taken in retaliation for a prior act of vengeance. From the prefix counter- (meaning "against" or "in opposition to") + vengeance (from Old French, from Latin vindicare, meaning "to claim, avenge"). Unlike "retribution," which implies a general punishment for wrongdoing, or "reprisal," which denotes retaliation for an initial offense, countervengeance is the second, recursive turn in a feud—a direct reply to a reply. It is the ambush laid for the returning avenger, the son slain for the father who was slain in revenge, the feud escalating from a single spark into a conflagration. It is the tragic algebra of an eye for an eye, ensuring the ledger of grief never closes.
noun
- Vengeance taken in reaction to earlier vengeance.