vile

[ vahyl ]
See synonyms for vile on Thesaurus.com
adjective,vil·er, vil·est.
  1. wretchedly bad: a vile humor.

  2. highly offensive, unpleasant, or objectionable: vile slander.

  1. repulsive or disgusting, as to the senses or feelings: a vile odor.

  2. morally debased, depraved, or despicable: vile deeds.

  3. foul; filthy: vile language.

  4. poor; wretched: vile workmanship.

  5. of mean or low condition: a vile beggar.

  6. menial; lowly: vile tasks.

  7. degraded; ignominious: vile servitude.

  8. of little value or account; paltry: a vile recompense.

Origin of vile

1
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English vil, from Old French, from Latin vīlis “of little worth, base, cheap”

synonym study For vile

1. See mean2.

Other words for vile

Opposites for vile

Other words from vile

  • vilely, adverb
  • vileness, noun

Words that may be confused with vile

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use vile in a sentence

  • Roman vileness and baseness disgusted Augustine even more than Punic insubordination.

  • How quickly the man tears open those eyes that would so willingly be closed to his vileness!

    Six Women | Victoria Cross
  • Give your consent, my dear; and the horrid villain shall be repaid with broken bones, at least, for all his vileness!

    Clarissa, Volume 6 (of 9) | Samuel Richardson
  • Whereupon he proceeded to make them a speech that for vileness exceeded aught I have ever heard before or since.

    Richard Carvel, Complete | Winston Churchill
  • But I do not care, even in this wilderness you've brought us to in that big English ship, to hear such vileness spoke out boldly.

    Blind Man's Lantern | Allen Kim Lang

British Dictionary definitions for vile

vile

/ (vaɪl) /


adjective
  1. abominably wicked; shameful or evil: the vile development of slavery appalled them

  2. morally despicable; ignoble: vile accusations

  1. disgusting to the senses or emotions; foul: a vile smell; vile epithets

  2. tending to humiliate or degrade: only slaves would perform such vile tasks

  3. unpleasant or bad: vile weather

  4. paltry: a vile reward

Origin of vile

1
C13: from Old French vil, from Latin vīlis cheap

Derived forms of vile

  • vilely, adverb
  • vileness, noun

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