vile
Americanadjective
-
wretchedly bad.
a vile humor.
- Antonyms:
- good
-
highly offensive, unpleasant, or objectionable.
vile slander.
-
repulsive or disgusting, as to the senses or feelings.
a vile odor.
- Synonyms:
- repellent
-
morally debased, depraved, or despicable.
vile deeds.
- Synonyms:
- iniquitous, evil, vicious
- Antonyms:
- elevated
-
foul; filthy.
vile language.
-
poor; wretched.
vile workmanship.
-
of mean or low condition.
a vile beggar.
-
menial; lowly.
vile tasks.
-
degraded; ignominious.
vile servitude.
- Synonyms:
- contemptible
-
of little value or account; paltry.
a vile recompense.
- Synonyms:
- trifling, trivial, contemptible
adjective
-
abominably wicked; shameful or evil
the vile development of slavery appalled them
-
morally despicable; ignoble
vile accusations
-
disgusting to the senses or emotions; foul
a vile smell
vile epithets
-
tending to humiliate or degrade
only slaves would perform such vile tasks
-
unpleasant or bad
vile weather
-
paltry
a vile reward
Synonym Usage
See mean 2.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of vile
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English vil, from Old French, from Latin vīlis “of little worth, base, cheap”
Explanation
Surely only an evil person could be so vile as to have made you so angry. Vile is something or someone so morally wrong or offensive as to be thoroughly disgusting. Are you appalled by someone’s sordid, despicable, ugly and just generally awful behavior? Then it’s probably vile, too. One of those dramatic adjectives with many synonyms, the word vile is not only used to describe a person or an action that is morally reprehensible; it can describe a smell that is so bad as to be practically morally reprehensible — or something else that offends your senses enough to make you nauseous. Those three month old dirty gym socks? They’re vile!
Vocabulary lists containing vile
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"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act III
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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.
See Examples For:
Sophie lives by herself in a small, tatty apartment that belongs to her vile ex-husband, Paul.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
Part of their story, then, is that it’s a vile myth that pregnancy and motherhood can be hard on women.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026
"The country and the world witnessed what happened at Jantar Mantar. Some mischievous youngsters hurled vile abuses," Modi, 75, said in a video posted on Instagram late Friday.
From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026
The Social Democratic and Labour Party councillor for the area, Karol McQuade, said the mosque display was "vile, dangerous and deeply irresponsible".
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
Von Rumpel squeezes out the last of the vile, salty cheese and drops the empty tube between his feet.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
Life calls for adjectives that mean better than best, viler than vile, cooler than cool.
From Time Magazine Archive
Presidents, there was "no viler oaf" than Woodrow Wilson.
From Time Magazine Archive
The purer the lips, the viler the blasphemy.
From The Cup of Fury A Novel of Cities and Shipyards by Henry Raleigh
The degree of culture that any nation may claim is shown in its cookery and if there is anything viler than what we get here it must be served in Berlin.
From The Paliser case by Edgar Saltus
Vile gallantry or viler underworld was looking for just such prey....
From Orphans of the Storm by Henry MacMahon
Sit in front of a screen and suffer an endless stream of the vilest videos the internet can offer, approving or denying each clip’s right to stay on a given platform.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
He’s been in Shakespearean villain territory many times, but this most recent selfish and heartless move puts him up there with the vilest villains the Bard of Avon ever created.
From Salon ● Feb. 5, 2024
Generations of Americans have held firm to a version of free speech that makes room for even the vilest of views.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 12, 2024
They invite our scorn, which is not to say they are immune to our pity: Even the vilest character turns out to be in the grip of a deeply misguided longing for transcendence.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2020
“Use your power,” she said, “and make the hussy fall madly in love with the vilest and most despicable creature there is in the whole world.”
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
