Link Centre Dictionary

vicious

vi·cious

UK/ˈvɪʃəs/ US/ˈvɪʃʌs/ fairly common

adjective

1.

(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering

  • “a barbarous crime”
  • “brutal beatings”
  • “cruel tortures”
  • “Stalin”
  • “;”
  • “;”
Synonyms
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2.

having the nature of vice

Synonyms
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3.

marked by deep ill will; deliberately harmful

  • “a malevolent lie”
  • “poisonous hate...in his eyes” Ernest Hemingway
  • “venomous criticism”
  • “vicious gossip”
Synonyms
Similar

Origin

PIE word *dwóh₁ From Middle English vicious, from Anglo-Norman vicious, (modern French vicieux), from Latin vitiōsus, from vitium (“fault, vice”). Equivalent to vice + -ous.

Phrases

  • vicious circle
  • vicious cycle
  • vicious intromission

Related words

Word family

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.