Vindictive means determined to pay back every wrong done to you. A vindictive streak, purely vindictive, vindictive behaviour.
It is a serious criticism because it describes a settled disposition rather than a moment of anger: a vindictive person keeps the score. It is used of decisions as well as people — a vindictive sentence, a vindictive campaign. Note vindictiveness; and vindicate, which comes from the same Latin and means almost the opposite in feeling — to clear somebody's name.
1adjectivevindictiveDetermined to pay back every wrong done to you.
“After the divorce, he became vindictive and tried to ruin her business.”
vindictive is a quality of vengefulness.
Also accepted in games: vengeful
Latin vindicta means vengeance, from vindicare, to claim or avenge. Vindicate and vengeance come from the same claiming, which is why one word ended up meaning clearing and the other punishing.
Latin
vindicta — vengeance
English, today
vindictive
From Latin vindicta (“vengeance”) + -ive. Contrast Latin vindicātīvus.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA