vicious

[ vish-uhs ]
See synonyms for: viciousviciouslyviciousness on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. spiteful; malicious: vicious gossip;a vicious attack.

  2. savage; ferocious: They all feared his vicious temper.

  1. (of an animal) having bad habits or a cruel or fierce disposition: a vicious bull.

  2. unpleasantly severe: a vicious headache.

  3. addicted to or characterized by vice; grossly immoral; depraved; profligate: a vicious life.

  4. given or readily disposed to evil: a vicious criminal.

  5. reprehensible; blameworthy; wrong: a vicious deception.

  6. characterized or marred by faults or defects; faulty; unsound: vicious reasoning.

  7. Archaic. morbid, foul, or noxious.

Origin of vicious

1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English or directly from Anglo-French, from Latin vitiōsus, equivalent to viti(um) “fault, defect, vice” (see vice1) + -ōsus -ous

Other words for vicious

Opposites for vicious

Other words from vicious

  • vi·cious·ly, adverb
  • vi·cious·ness, noun
  • un·vi·cious, adjective
  • un·vi·cious·ly, adverb
  • un·vi·cious·ness, noun

Words that may be confused with vicious

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

How to use vicious in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for vicious

vicious

/ (ˈvɪʃəs) /


adjective
  1. wicked or cruel; villainous: a vicious thug

  2. characterized by violence or ferocity: a vicious blow

  1. informal unpleasantly severe; harsh: a vicious wind

  2. characterized by malice: vicious lies

  3. (esp of dogs, horses, etc) ferocious or hostile; dangerous

  4. characterized by or leading to vice

  5. invalidated by defects; unsound: a vicious inference

  6. obsolete noxious or morbid: a vicious exhalation

Origin of vicious

1
C14: from Old French vicieus, from Latin vitiōsus full of faults, from vitium a defect

Derived forms of vicious

  • viciously, adverb
  • viciousness, 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