pernicious
[ per-nish-uhs ]
/ pərˈnɪʃ əs /
adjective
causing insidious harm or ruin; ruinous; injurious; hurtful: pernicious teachings; a pernicious lie.
deadly; fatal: a pernicious disease.
Obsolete. evil; wicked.
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Origin of pernicious
SYNONYMS FOR pernicious
2 lethal.
OTHER WORDS FROM pernicious
per·ni·cious·ly, adverbper·ni·cious·ness, nounun·per·ni·cious, adjectiveun·per·ni·cious·ly, adverbDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for pernicious
British Dictionary definitions for pernicious
pernicious
/ (pəˈnɪʃəs) /
adjective
wicked or maliciouspernicious lies
causing grave harm; deadly
Derived forms of pernicious
perniciously, adverbperniciousness, nounWord Origin for pernicious
C16: from Latin perniciōsus, from perniciēs ruin, from per- (intensive) + nex death
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Medical definitions for pernicious
pernicious
[ pər-nĭsh′əs ]
adj.
Tending to cause death or serious injury; deadly.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.