From the usage I am familiar with, it sounds strange to use "revenge" as a verb by itself. I am used to hearing it together with another word, such as "get revenge" or "take revenge". My dictionary lists revenge as being both a noun and a verb though, so is it correct to say "I wanted to revenge my first experience traveling abroad and do it right the second time"?
I corrected someone who is a non-native English speaker, advising that it's more natural to say "get revenge". However, I could not say with confidence that it is wrong to "revenge" something or someone.
On a related note, I have heard the synonym "avenge" being used in this way: "I will avenge his death". So are "revenge" and "avenge" sister words that have been adopted with different usage? Or perhaps their usage follows the same rules but it has become more popular to use "revenge" together with another verb?
Thanks
Answer
This is unusual for an English verb in that it is reflexive.
Example
"I hear you are very angry about what happened"
"Yes, and I intend to revenge myself."
The same is true for 'avenge.' In fact they seem to be used interchangeably as this ngram shows:
Google ngram: revenge myself,avenge myself
However it makes little sense to say, "I wanted to revenge my first experience traveling abroad and do it right the second time"
Revenge is a way of inflicting punishment on a person. Who are you punishing by travelling abroad?
Maybe you want to redress the past experience?
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