Word For The Day

vindictive

One entry found.

Pronunciation:

\vin-ˈdik-tiv\

Function:

adjective

Etymology:

Latin vindicta revenge, vindication, from vindicare

Date:

15th century

1 a: disposed to seek revenge : vengeful b: intended for or involving revenge2: intended to cause anguish or hurt : spiteful

— vin·dic·tive·ly adverb

— vin·dic·tive·ness noun

vin·dic·tive

What is it that causes a person to be vindictive? Some would say that it is because of the actions of another that would "force" them to react in such a manner. That normally they are not the type of person who would ever be provoked in such a way as to lower themselves to such a level. That they are the type to just forgive and forget and move on with their lives. They try and validate this by saying that they were not born this way nor were they raised this way, that they were taught much better. When I hear that coming from someone I just smile and think of all those used car salesmen they are starting to sound like. "Its a peach, only a one owner car and it was only driven on Sundays to go to church."

Vindictive people are not ones that just happen, I mean they do not wake up one day and have a life altering outlook on life and decide that it was going to be that day they would start being a spiteful, vengeful and vindictive person. It takes a life time of conditioning to be this way. Feelings hurt as a child, a lesser sibling that felt as if they did not get the attention they deserved. Children at school that made fun of them. Always being chosen last and only when there was no other choice. Their vengeful actions usually start small, something written on a bathroom wall in school, starting a malicious rumor or breaking something that belonged to the one they felt deserved it. They hone their skills over the years, refining their tactics until they become razor sharp, slicing a little at time. They are sadist that enjoy inflicting pain in order to please themselves.

Very few of them if any take responsibility for what they have done. They act as if they are totally innocent and if proven they are at fault, then they try and make others believe that they are justified in what they have done or are in the process of doing. They resort to many things and lieing is one thing they seem very adept at. When they feel that they have been hurt, unjustly scorned they will do anything they can to extract their ounce of revenge. They are weak so they seek out other weak people to help them. It is not that they care for the person that they use to retaliate against another and they will even enlist past enemies of theirs in order to achieve this. And once they are done using them and they are no longer of any use to them, they too will be brushed aside and treated as if they are less than them.

Merriam-Webster associates two words in defining vindictive, but this falls very short of who the person really is or what it would be to describe them, spiteful and vengeful. I think a few more words are in the offering to have a clearer understanding of the type of person who would act this way. Childish, immature, deceitful, arrogant, asinine, pathetic, sadistic, masochistic, moronic, bitter, pissy, bipolar (could be associated with a mental disorder). They have low self esteem, a very poor family life, if married and unhappy in that marriage, seeks attention and praise, has no feelings for others, seeks out weak people they can control and use, in short they have no life.

Damn, don't you just love chat?

Later...