flagitious
Americanadjective
-
shamefully wicked, as persons, actions, or times.
-
heinous or flagrant, as a crime; infamous.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of flagitious
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English flagicious, from Latin flāgitiōsus, equivalent to flāgiti(um) “shame, scandal” + -ōsus -ous
Explanation
Flagitious is a fancy and forceful word for "wicked and nasty." As sheriff, it's up to you to bring the flagitious outlaws to justice. Remember that flagitious has three syllables and the "t" is pronounced like "sh" (similar to "ambitious"). Use flagitious when you want to emphasize the extremely brutal nature of a crime or other bad action. The crime scene photos showed the results of actions so flagitious you could not bear to look at them.
Vocabulary lists containing flagitious
Quiz yourself on these words spoken by the man at the center of the "Laurel" / "Yanny" craze!
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Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions
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An Essay on Criticism
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
To applaud the sadists, voyeurs and media manipulators masquerading as directors, actors and writers is as misguided as were the lives of that flagitious couple.
From Time Magazine Archive
This couple were said to have been married without the intervention of go-betweens, and hence the most flagitious conduct was to be expected from them.
From Village Life in China A Study in Sociology by Smith, Arthur H.
These men were reported to be heretics, Lutherans in disguise, seducers of youth, and men of flagitious life.
From The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 09 by Johnson, Rossiter
Four months more brought him to the end of his flagitious career.
From Historic Tales, Volume 11 (of 15) The Romance of Reality by Morris, Charles
Coventry stigmatized them as marking especial and flagitious ingratitude.
From Sir Walter Ralegh A Biography by Stebbing, W. (William)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
