revanche means revenge or retaliation. It carries an Arena rating of 1644, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, revanche ranks #1,509 of 17,131 for Scariest Words, #1,964 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #2,269 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words, #2,977 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words.
revanche is pronounced /ɹəˈvɑnt͡ʃ/.
Why “revanche” is a great word
A formal, often nationalistic policy of retaliating to recover lost territory, power, or prestige. Borrowed from French revanche ("revenge, requital"), itself from the Middle French verb revenchier ("to revenge"). Doublet of revenge. Unlike the intimate, emotional burn of "revenge" or the abstract ideology of "revanchism," revanche is the specific, cold doctrine of statecraft—the map redrawn in secret chambers, the bronze plaque listing stolen provinces in a town square, the patient mobilization of armies for restitution. It is the belief that history's ledger can be balanced by force, a calculated yearning forged from the iron and soil of what was, and could be again.
Etymology
Borrowed from French revanche. Doublet of revenge.
noun
- Revenge or retaliation.
- The political policy of regaining lost territory.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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