flagitious
Americanadjective
-
shamefully wicked, as persons, actions, or times.
-
heinous or flagrant, as a crime; infamous.
adjective
Other Word 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
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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.
Flagitious manners make impressions deep On those, that o'er a page of Milton sleep: Nor in their dulness think to save your shame, True, these are fools; but wise men say the same.
From The Poetical Works of Edward Young, Volume 2 by Young, Edward
Flagitious, fla-jish′us, adj. grossly wicked: guilty of enormous crimes.—adv.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various
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.
