vicious
vicious Lexical Profile
vicious Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Deliberately cruel, malicious, or spiteful in character or action.
"The candidate became the target of a vicious smear campaign in the weeks leading up to the election."
Dangerously aggressive, fierce, or unruly (especially of an animal).
"The postal worker refused to approach the porch because a vicious guard dog was barking behind the gate."
Extremely severe, intense, or unpleasant in effect or degree.
"She had to stay home in a darkened room all afternoon because of a vicious migraine."
Immoral, depraved, or given to vice.
"The nineteenth-century reformer wrote extensively about saving young people from leading a vicious life."
Word Nuance & Usage
Do not confuse 'vicious' (cruel, spiteful, or fierce) with 'viscous' (having a thick, sticky consistency between solid and liquid).
• Rhymes for vicious
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the 14th century from Old French 'vicios', from Latin 'vitiosus' ('faulty, defective, corrupt, or wicked'), derived from 'vitium' ('fault, defect, or vice').