violent
[ vahy-uh-luh nt ]
/ ˈvaɪ ə lənt /
adjective
acting with or characterized by uncontrolled, strong, rough force: a violent earthquake.
caused by injurious or destructive force: a violent death.
intense in force, effect, etc.; severe; extreme: violent pain; violent cold.
roughly or immoderately vehement or ardent: violent passions.
furious in impetuosity, energy, etc.: violent haste.
of, relating to, or constituting a distortion of meaning or fact.
Words nearby violent
violaceous, violate, violation, violative, violence, violent, violent storm, violescent, violet, violet family, violet iris
Origin of violent
1300–50; Middle English < Latin violentus, equivalent to vi-, shortening (before a vowel) of base of vīs force, violence + -olentus, variant (after a vowel) of -ulentus -ulent
OTHER WORDS FROM violent
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH violent
violent virulentDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Examples from the Web for violent
British Dictionary definitions for violent
violent
/ (ˈvaɪələnt) /
adjective
marked or caused by great physical force or violencea violent stab
(of a person) tending to the use of violence, esp in order to injure or intimidate others
marked by intensity of any kinda violent clash of colours
characterized by an undue use of force; severe; harsh
caused by or displaying strong or undue mental or emotional forcea violent tongue
tending to distort the meaning or intenta violent interpretation of the text
Derived forms of violent
violently, adverbWord Origin for violent
C14: from Latin violentus, probably from vīs strength
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012