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
Synonym Usage
See mean 2.
Other Word Forms
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
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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.
See Examples For:
They’ve come to this cesspool to find the villainous Krem, an unrecognizably vile Matthias Schoenaerts with a mug that’s been pierced all over like he face-planted into a pile of thumbtacks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
She said that if any health care worker was advised by police to show ID to masked men it was "vile and disgusting" and there must be a "serious investigation".
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026
But there is significant and respected scholarship that goes much further and holds that the Constitution is a pro-slavery, and pro-Southern, document which protected that vile institution.
From Salon ● May 14, 2026
As North Korea’s hagiographers rewrote history, they held American missionaries responsible for the country’s misfortunes, while state-sponsored novels, plays and museums depicted them as jackals who subjected Koreans to vile human experiments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 11, 2026
"I'll tear up your vile mes sage the moment I'm gone. And keep the crown for myself!"
From "The Whipping Boy" by Sid Fleischman
Presidents, there was "no viler oaf" than Woodrow Wilson.
From Time Magazine Archive
Life calls for adjectives that mean better than best, viler than vile, cooler than cool.
From Time Magazine Archive
But has not Christian Rome witnessed many a viler spectacle?
From Flowers of Freethought (Second Series) by Foote, G. W. (George William)
Still, the accusation of sorcery was so convenient—such a cloak for viler sins!
From Witch Stories by Linton, E. Lynn (Elizabeth Lynn)
Some day you may learn that there are viler things in the world--and have to bear them--than a poor gentleman!'
From Historical Romances: Under the Red Robe, Count Hannibal, A Gentleman of France by Weyman, Stanley J.
Sit in front of a screen and suffer an endless stream of the vilest videos the internet can offer, approving or denying each clip’s right to stay on a given platform.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
Generations of Americans have held firm to a version of free speech that makes room for even the vilest of views.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 12, 2024
There are some who say the vilest things imaginable.
From Salon ● Oct. 26, 2021
They invite our scorn, which is not to say they are immune to our pity: Even the vilest character turns out to be in the grip of a deeply misguided longing for transcendence.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2020
He opened a glass jar, and they were all assaulted with the vilest scent they had ever smelled.
From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste
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.
