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
Related Words
See mean 2.
Other Word Forms
- vilely adverb
- vileness noun
Etymology
Origin of vile
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English vil, from Old French, from Latin vīlis “of little worth, base, cheap”
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.
“Today’s lawsuit underscores that this Department of Justice stands strong against hate and antisemitism in all its vile forms.”
From Los Angeles Times
Champ has been accused of biting a neighbor, the vile daughter of the Lambert family’s sworn enemy.
The catty media site Gawker noted that corners of the internet like 4Chan could be expected to respond with heinous pranks, without realizing how vile the rhetoric of regular people was about to get.
From Salon
"The new measures announced today include crackdown on vile illegal content created by AI," Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement ahead of a speech on the matter Monday.
From Barron's
Sean is the definitive picture of the carefree collegiate rebellion, an example of free youth so vile and twisted that Van Der Beek becomes utterly and instantly unrecognizable from the role that made him famous.
From Salon
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.
