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”
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
100 Words to Make You Sound Smart
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"The Crucible" -- Vocabulary from all 4 Acts
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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.
She came to me after that scene, and she goes, “Sonny, in all my years in this business, that is the most vile, disgusting thing I’ve ever had to do.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026
"If we start banning people from entering the country because we don't like what they say, I worry where that ends up," he said, while calling West's past comments "really vile".
From Barron's • Apr. 7, 2026
“What’s the worst, most vile thing a filmmaker could conjure up to hinge an entire movie on?”
From Salon • Apr. 3, 2026
This is a novel about pettiness, middle-class superficiality, disloyalty, prejudice and cruelty, with this coterie of rather vile friends acting as a microcosm for a society in decline.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026
I don’t even glance at the herbal teas, I go straight for the real, vile coffee.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
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.
