Vicious Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

Definition of vicious ; 2 · malicious, spiteful ; 3 · worsened by internal causes that reciprocally augment each other ; 4 · having the nature or quality of vice or ... Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks JoinMWU MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut vicious adjective SaveWord vi·​cious |\ˈvi-shəs \ Definitionofvicious 1a :dangerouslyaggressive:savage aviciousdog b :markedbyviolenceorferocity:fierce aviciousfight 2 :malicious,spiteful viciousgossip 3 :worsenedbyinternalcausesthatreciprocallyaugmenteachother aviciouswage-pricespiral 4 :havingthenatureorqualityofviceorimmorality:depraved 5 :defective,faulty also :invalid 6 :impure,noxious OtherWordsfromvicious Synonyms&Antonyms ChoosetheRightSynonym MoreExampleSentences PhrasesContainingvicious LearnMoreAboutvicious OtherWordsfromvicious viciously adverb viciousness noun Synonyms&Antonymsforvicious Synonyms acute,almighty,blistering,deep,dreadful,excruciating,explosive,exquisite,fearful,fearsome,ferocious,fierce,frightful,furious,ghastly,hard,heavy,heavy-duty,hellacious,intense,intensive,keen,profound,terrible,vehement,violent Antonyms light,moderate,soft VisittheThesaurusforMore  ChoosetheRightSynonymforvicious vicious,villainous,iniquitous,nefarious,corrupt,degeneratemeanhighlyreprehensibleoroffensiveincharacter,nature,orconduct.viciousmaydirectlyopposevirtuousinimplyingmoraldepravity,ormayconnotemalignancy,cruelty,ordestructiveviolence. aviciousgangster villainousappliestoanyevil,depraved,orvileconductorcharacteristic. avillainousassault iniquitousimpliesabsenceofallsignsofjusticeorfairness. aniniquitoussystemoftaxation nefarioussuggestsflagrantbreachingoftime-honoredlawsandtraditionsofconduct. thenefariousracketsoforganizedcrime corruptstressesalossofmoralintegrityorprobitycausingbetrayalofprincipleorswornobligations. cityhallwasrifewithcorruptpoliticians degeneratesuggestshavingsunktoanespeciallyviciousorenervatedcondition. adegenerateregimeproppedupbyforeignpowers ExamplesofviciousinaSentence Challengingareasofsocialconsensus,howeverdumborevenvicioustheconsensus,islargelyofflimitsforthemedia,becauseitwinsnofriendsamongthegeneralpublic. —RichardA.Posner,NewYorkTimesBookReview,31July2005 ThegeneticallyviciousnatureofpresidentialcampaignsinAmericaistooobvioustoarguewith,butsomepeoplecallitfun,andIamoneofthem. —Dr.HunterS.Thompson,RollingStone,11Nov.2004 TruetoFinalsform,thishardwoodbattlehasbecomeasviciousasanystreetscrum. —AnneMarieCruz,ESPN,24June2002 FormostofmylifeIhaveretainedahauntingimagefromanoldTarzanmovie:piranhas,thoseviciouslittlefishwiththearrowhead-shapedteeth,devouringapig.ForgetthattherearenopiranhainAfrica.ButtheydoexistinBrazil,inabundanceinthemeanderingwaterwaysoftheAmazonBasin. —GeraldEskenazi,NewYorkTimes,6Oct.2002 TheOlympicsalwaysseemedtoomuchlikewar,viciousoldmenmanipulatingyoungstershungryforfameintoperformingheroicactsforshortchange. —RobertLipsyte,NewYorkTimes,29July2001 Hisslider—avicious,hard-breakingpitchwithwhichhefinishedoffright-handedhittersforyears—wasinconsistentandbenign,andthevelocityofhisfastballwasdiminished. —BusterOlney,NewYorkTimesMagazine,4Mar.2001 avicioustoneofvoice Iknowyou'reupsetwithher,butthere'snoneedtobevicious. SeeMore RecentExamplesontheWeb Thisviciouscycleprecludesthemedicalprofessionfromachievingjustice,equity,diversity,andinclusion,andthereforepreventsthepopulationfromachievinghealthequity. — PringlMiller,STAT,11Sep.2022 IfinvestorsstarttolosefaithinBritain’sabilitytofinanceitself,thepoundcouldfallfurther,spurringinflationandaviciouscycle. — MaxColchester,WSJ,6Sep.2022 Thiscanturnintoaviciouscycleinwhichsomeonekeepstreatingheadachepain,onlytodevelopmorepainfromthemedication. — KorinMiller,SELF,22Aug.2022 Theremaybeaviciouscycleatplayheretoo,becausedroughtsandfloodscouldmakesubsequentdroughtsandfloodsmoresevere. — WIRED,21Aug.2022 That’scrucialfortheFedbecauseexpectationsforhigherinflationinthefuturecantriggerbuyingactivitythatinflamesinflationfurtherinaself-fulfilling,viciouscycle. — AlexVeiga,BostonGlobe.com,24June2022 Limitingfederalsubsidiesforgraduateeducationcanarrestthisviciouscycleandreducetheneedforfuturegenerationstoborrow. — PrestonCooper,Forbes,17Aug.2022 Officialrecessionrecognitionwillhavetoawaitawidervarietyofdatareleases,however,becausearecessionisaviciouscycleofdecliningemployment,income,outputandsalesthatthenfeedbackintoafurtherdropinemployment,etc. — CNN,29July2022 Therisknowisthattheinabilityofdeveloperstodeliverpropertieswillleadtoaviciouscycle:potentialhomebuyersstayaway,whichworsensdevelopers’abilitytoraisemoneytocompleteprojects. — JackyWong,WSJ,28July2022 SeeMore Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'vicious.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. PhrasesContainingvicious viciouscircle viciouscircle FirstKnownUseofvicious 14thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedatsense4 HistoryandEtymologyforvicious MiddleEnglish,fromAnglo-Frenchvicios,fromLatinvitiosusfulloffaults,corrupt,fromvitiumvice LearnMoreAboutvicious Sharevicious PosttheDefinitionofvicioustoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofviciousonTwitter TimeTravelerforvicious Thefirstknownuseofviciouswas inthe14thcentury Seemorewordsfromthesamecentury FromtheEditorsatMerriam-Webster 11AuthorsonTheirOne-WordBookTitles 11AuthorsonTheirOne-WordBookTitles Tellinganentirestoryinasingleword DictionaryEntriesNearvicious vicinity vicious viciouscircle SeeMoreNearbyEntries  Statisticsforvicious LastUpdated 15Sep2022 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Vicious.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vicious.Accessed23Sep.2022. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MoreDefinitionsforvicious vicious adjective vi·​cious |\ˈvi-shəs \ KidsDefinitionofvicious 1 :verydangerous aviciousdog 2 :filledwithorshowingunkindfeelings viciousgossip 3 :violentandcruel aviciousattack 4 :verysevere aviciousstorm OtherWordsfromvicious viciously adverb viciousness noun vicious adjective vi·​cious |\ˈvish-əs \ Medical Definitionofvicious 1 :dangerouslyaggresive aviciousdog 2 :of,relatingto,orbeingperverseorabnormalbehaviorinadomesticanimal MorefromMerriam-Websteronvicious Nglish:TranslationofviciousforSpanishSpeakers BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofviciousforArabicSpeakers WORDOFTHEDAY misnomer SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! TestYourVocabulary CommonlyConfusedWordsQuiz Iwenttothe______storetobuyabirthdaycard. stationery stationary Testyourvocabularywithour10-questionquiz! TAKETHEQUIZ Adailychallengeforcrosswordfanatics. 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