vicious
Americanadjective
-
vicious gossip;
a vicious attack.
- Synonyms:
- malevolent
-
They all feared his vicious temper.
-
(of an animal) having bad habits or a cruel or fierce disposition.
a vicious bull.
-
unpleasantly severe.
a vicious headache.
-
addicted to or characterized by vice; grossly immoral; depraved; profligate.
a vicious life.
- Synonyms:
- sinful, iniquitous, corrupt, abandoned
- Antonyms:
- moral
-
given or readily disposed to evil.
a vicious criminal.
-
reprehensible; blameworthy; wrong.
a vicious deception.
-
characterized or marred by faults or defects; faulty; unsound.
vicious reasoning.
-
Archaic. morbid, foul, or noxious.
adjective
-
wicked or cruel; villainous
a vicious thug
-
characterized by violence or ferocity
a vicious blow
-
informal unpleasantly severe; harsh
a vicious wind
-
characterized by malice
vicious lies
-
(esp of dogs, horses, etc) ferocious or hostile; dangerous
-
characterized by or leading to vice
-
invalidated by defects; unsound
a vicious inference
-
obsolete noxious or morbid
a vicious exhalation
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of vicious
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English or directly from Anglo-French, from Latin vitiōsus, equivalent to viti(um) “fault, defect, vice” ( see vice 1) + -ōsus -ous
Explanation
Vicious is an adjective that means intentionally harmful or nasty. If you spread vicious rumors about a person, you're telling people things that will hurt her feelings or ruin her reputation. Cut it out! If you're described as vicious, you're someone who does brutal things on purpose, out of ill-will towards others, like beating up defenseless puppies or poisoning the drinking water for a town. You're worse than just mean if you are vicious — in fact, you're evil! People (and puppies) will be wise to keep their distance. Other things, like gossip, animals, or cars from horror movies can be vicious, too.
Vocabulary lists containing vicious
Negative Words to Describe a Person
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Beowulf: A New Telling
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Schooled
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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.
Rex Reed, the longtime movie critic and celebrity interviewer known for his contrarian attitude and eloquent, vicious jabs of his pen, died Tuesday.
From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026
Fans of mixed metaphors will enjoy Czechia's Daniel Žižka, whose song Crossroads finds him in open waters... and in foreign fields, and in a golden cage and also in a "vicious spider web".
From BBC • May 8, 2026
Extremism is both the starting point and the end point of a vicious circle.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026
"Great civilizations outlast even the most vicious occupiers."
From Barron's • Mar. 28, 2026
“No, I’m not. I’m serious. I’ll even be sad, Ben. Even though you’ve spent your whole life making vicious remarks to me, I will try not to be amused at your funeral.”
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
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.
