wicked
Americanadjective
-
evil or morally bad in principle or practice; sinful; iniquitous.
wicked people;
wicked habits.
- Synonyms:
- villainous, infamous, heinous, dissolute, depraved, corrupt, profligate, immoral, blasphemous, profane, impious, godless, ungodly, unrighteous
-
mischievous or playfully malicious.
These wicked kittens upset everything.
-
distressingly severe, as a storm, wound, or cold.
a wicked winter.
-
passing reasonable bounds; intolerably bad.
wicked prices;
a wicked exam.
-
having a bad disposition; ill-natured; mean.
a wicked horse.
-
spiteful; malevolent; vicious.
a wicked tongue.
-
extremely troublesome or dangerous.
wicked roads.
-
a wicked odor.
-
Slang. wonderful; great; masterful; deeply satisfying.
He blows a wicked trumpet.
adverb
adjective
-
-
morally bad in principle or practice
-
( as collective noun; preceded by the )
the wicked
-
-
mischievous or roguish, esp in a playful way
a wicked grin
-
causing injury or harm
-
troublesome, unpleasant, or offensive
-
slang very good
Usage
What are other ways to say wicked?
Someone or something wicked is morally bad in principle or practice. But calling someone or something wicked isn’t quite the same as calling them bad, evil, or ill. Find out why on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of wicked
First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English wikked, equivalent to wikke “bad” (representing adjective use of Old English wicca “wizard”; cf. witch) + -ed -ed 3
Explanation
Wicked has two quite contradictory meanings. If something is pure evil, then it is wicked. Think Darth Vader. On the other hand, as an informal slang term, wicked also means excellent — as in "that DJ is wicked, man!" Go figure. Other shades of meaning for wicked include something that is playful or enjoyably malicious. Someone might have a wicked sense of humor, for example, meaning it's fierce and takes aim sharply at its victims. Or it can also mean something that, while not actively evil, is still extremely unpleasant. Exams can be wicked, and so can someone's temper or the weather. The word comes from the Old English term wicca meaning "wizard."
Vocabulary lists containing wicked
Oh, No! Synonyms for "Bad"
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Macbeth's "Is this a dagger..." soliloquy
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"Frankenstein" and "How Frankenstein Began"
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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:
He added their photographer was "wicked" capturing "some really impressive shots" of the spectacle and guest reactions.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
"I really rate Andy Burnham for what he's done with Manchester. I think he's wicked," said McCulloch, 22.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
Though Neill had more than a lifetime’s experience playing characters who were solely benevolent or entirely wicked, he was remarkably adept at navigating the journey back and forth between these two polarities.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026
Attorney General Peter Neronha calls it “willful, reckless, or wicked, as amounted to criminality.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
Love Jo all your days, if you choose, but don’t let it spoil you, for it’s wicked to throw away so many good gifts because you can’t have the one you want.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
So here are deviled eggs, made wickeder by breading and deep-frying the whites, crunchy veneer giving way to wobble.
From New York Times ● Mar. 9, 2017
Think of this book as a typical English-village mystery with a wickeder sting.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 7, 2010
That is Day-Lewis' goal and gift: to be so true to his characters that they need never be sentimentalized, made to seem finer, grander, wickeder or more appealing.
From Time Magazine Archive
It's a secret, but"—lips and parasol again, eyes wickeder than ever—"it's something that you can see and touch.
From John March, Southerner by George W. Cable
Miss Cleeve bit her lips, and Mrs Valetta, looking wickeder than ever, closed her eyes apparently for ever.
From The Claw by Cynthia Stockley
Efforts to make it appear that one of the world’s wickedest men would be in thrall to this milky, recessive nonentity are laughable.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
Both characters are deeply, deeply decent people with an instinct towards caretaking and compassion, with an underlying, usually unspoken assumption that, if they’re kind enough, even the wickedest of foes will be disarmed.
From Slate ● Sep. 4, 2021
But a journalist who visited the area during construction had a different name for it: “the wickedest city in America.”
From Washington Post ● Aug. 5, 2021
But Delta is by no means the wickedest variant out there.
From New York Times ● Jul. 25, 2021
She had the wickedest smile he'd ever seen on a woman.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
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.
