revanche

/rəˈvæntʃ/

Other forms: revanches

In politics, revanche is when one country retaliates against another by reclaiming territory that's been lost. A focus on revanche can often lead to military conflict.

The French word revanche means "revenge." The word was first used in a political context in the 1870s after the Franco-Prussian War. French nationalists were determined to get back at the German confederation by reclaiming territory they'd lost, and their single-minded focus on this retaliation came to be known as revanche. The term is still around, used to describe modern political events like the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which Vladimir Putin claimed was lost Russian territory.

Definitions of revanche

1. noun

   action taken in return for an injury or offense
   synonyms: retaliation, revenge

   types:

   payback, retribution, vengeance

   the act of taking revenge (harming someone in retaliation for something harmful that they have done) especially in the next life

   reprisal

   a retaliatory action against an enemy in wartime

   type of:

   getting even, paying back, return

   a reciprocal group action
2. noun

   a policy aimed at recovering a nation’s lost territory, especially in retaliation against an enemy nation
   synonyms: revanchism