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vicious

adjective
vi·​cious | \ ˈvi-shəs How to pronounce vicious (audio) \

Definition of vicious

1a : dangerously aggressive : savage a vicious dog
b : marked by violence or ferocity : fierce a vicious fight
2 : malicious, spiteful vicious gossip
3 : worsened by internal causes that reciprocally augment each other a vicious wage-price spiral
4 : having the nature or quality of vice or immorality : depraved
5 : defective, faulty also : invalid
6 : impure, noxious
Other Words from vicious Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about vicious

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Other Words from vicious

viciously adverb
viciousness noun

Choose the Right Synonym for vicious

vicious, villainous, iniquitous, nefarious, corrupt, degenerate mean highly reprehensible or offensive in character, nature, or conduct. vicious may directly oppose virtuous in implying moral depravity, or may connote malignancy, cruelty, or destructive violence. a vicious gangster villainous applies to any evil, depraved, or vile conduct or characteristic. a villainous assault iniquitous implies absence of all signs of justice or fairness. an iniquitous system of taxation nefarious suggests flagrant breaching of time-honored laws and traditions of conduct. the nefarious rackets of organized crime corrupt stresses a loss of moral integrity or probity causing betrayal of principle or sworn obligations. city hall was rife with corrupt politicians degenerate suggests having sunk to an especially vicious or enervated condition. a degenerate regime propped up by foreign powers

Examples of vicious in a Sentence

Challenging areas of social consensus, however dumb or even vicious the consensus, is largely off limits for the media, because it wins no friends among the general public. — Richard A. Posner, New York Times Book Review, 31 July 2005 The genetically vicious nature of presidential campaigns in America is too obvious to argue with, but some people call it fun, and I am one of them. — Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, Rolling Stone, 11 Nov. 2004 True to Finals form, this hardwood battle has become as vicious as any street scrum. — Anne Marie Cruz, ESPN, 24 June 2002 For most of my life I have retained a haunting image from an old Tarzan movie: piranhas, those vicious little fish with the arrowhead-shaped teeth, devouring a pig. Forget that there are no piranha in Africa. But they do exist in Brazil, in abundance in the meandering waterways of the Amazon Basin. — Gerald Eskenazi, New York Times, 6 Oct. 2002 The Olympics always seemed too much like war, vicious old men manipulating youngsters hungry for fame into performing heroic acts for short change. — Robert Lipsyte, New York Times, 29 July 2001 His slider—a vicious, hard-breaking pitch with which he finished off right-handed hitters for years—was inconsistent and benign, and the velocity of his fastball was diminished. — Buster Olney, New York Times Magazine, 4 Mar. 2001 a vicious tone of voice I know you're upset with her, but there's no need to be vicious.
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Recent Examples on the Web

 Cargo owners expect a significant jump in freight rates, which over the past five years have been hovering below break-even levels for vessel operators as a result of a glut of ships in the water and vicious price wars. — Costas Paris, WSJ, "Shipping Comes to Terms With $50 Billion Clean-Fuel Bill," 4 Apr. 2019 Earlier this year, after an especially vicious set of mom-shaming comments on an Instagram photo in which her toddler son wasn't wearing pants, Pink declared that she was done posting pictures of her children. — Marci Robin, Allure, "Pink Showed Solidarity With Mom-Shamed Jessica Simpson by Dyeing Her Daughter’s Hair, Too," 2 Aug. 2019 The growing controversy threatens to throw House Republicans into a vicious and politically damaging civil war ahead of next year's crucial primary elections, in which Democrats are raring to flip the chamber for the first time since 2003. — By Lauren Mcgaughy James Barragán, Dallas News, "'They will have to resign': Texas lawmakers allege House Speaker said he'd pull credentials from media outlet," 1 Aug. 2019 Jaxson Hayes delivered his own quake a few games later, baptizing a Bulls defender with a vicious poster dunk off a gorgeous no-look feed from Nickeil Alexander-Walker. — Jake Fischer, SI.com, "How David Griffin Rebuilt the Pelicans and His World," 1 Aug. 2019 In addition to taking over the infamous Spahn Ranch outside of Los Angeles, Manson and his vicious band also spread themselves more than 200 miles east to the primitive Barker Ranch, inside Death Valley National Park. — Fox News, "Another Manson murder? Debra Tate, victim's sister, fights to reopen probe into 1969 suspicious death," 31 July 2019 Politics as outrage in the vicious game of who wins and who loses is nothing new. — John Kass, Twin Cities, "John Kass: Race card loses its sting as it’s overused," 29 July 2019 Powered by solar panels and with the potential to outmaneuver the planet's vicious dust storms, LEMUR technology could be exploring Mars for a long time. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "NASA Is Building a Family of Cliff-Climbing Robots," 11 July 2019 But the vicious tone that was once was relegated to comment sections is now rampant across the site. — Alexander Heffner, WIRED, "Greed Is to Blame for the Radicalization of Social Media," 30 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'vicious.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of vicious

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 4

History and Etymology for vicious

Middle English, from Anglo-French vicios, from Latin vitiosus full of faults, corrupt, from vitium vice

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More Definitions for vicious

vicious

adjective
How to pronounce vicious (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of vicious

: very violent and cruel
: very dangerous

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