vicious

[vish-uhs]

adjective

1. spiteful; malicious.

   vicious gossip;

   a vicious attack.

   Synonyms: malevolent

2. savage; ferocious.

   They all feared his vicious temper.

3. (of an animal) having bad habits or a cruel or fierce disposition.

   a vicious bull.

4. unpleasantly severe.

   a vicious headache.

5. addicted to or characterized by vice; grossly immoral; depraved; profligate.

   a vicious life.

   Synonyms: sinful, iniquitous, corrupt, abandoned
   Antonyms: moral

6. given or readily disposed to evil.

   a vicious criminal.

7. reprehensible; blameworthy; wrong.

   a vicious deception.

8. characterized or marred by faults or defects; faulty; unsound.

   vicious reasoning.

9. Archaic.,  morbid, foul, or noxious.

vicious

/ ˈvɪʃəs /

adjective

1. wicked or cruel; villainous

   a vicious thug

2. characterized by violence or ferocity

   a vicious blow

3. informal,  unpleasantly severe; harsh

   a vicious wind

4. characterized by malice

   vicious lies

5. (esp of dogs, horses, etc) ferocious or hostile; dangerous

6. characterized by or leading to vice

7. invalidated by defects; unsound

   a vicious inference

8. obsolete,  noxious or morbid

   a vicious exhalation

Other Word Forms

• viciously adverb
• viciousness noun
• unvicious adjective
• unviciously adverb
• unviciousness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of vicious¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English or directly from Anglo-French, from Latin vitiōsus, equivalent to viti(um) “fault, defect, vice” ( vice ¹ ) + -ōsus -ous

Word History and Origins

Origin of vicious¹

C14: from Old French vicieus, from Latin vitiōsus full of faults, from vitium a defect

Example Sentences

“It’s a war of big ideas. It’s a revolution, it’s a world war and it’s a brutal, ugly, vicious, 18th century war.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In policy terms, the result is the vicious circle that is New York: Democrats raise taxes or subsidize something people don’t want.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

After a particularly vicious beating, “the officers were held upright so they could be beaten some more.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“There’s a vicious attack on us at this point, and we as Christians, we can do nothing,” Hanna said.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

"If you take a look at Twitter today, or any day for that matter, you know how vicious politics can be," he wrote.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• atrocious 
• barbarous 
• cruel 
• dangerous 
• depraved 
• diabolical 
• ferocious 
• heinous 
• infamous 
• monstrous 
• nefarious 
• perverse 
• savage 
• vile 
• violent 
• wicked