Vicious Definition & Meaning

American

British

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms vicious American [vish-uhs] / ˈvɪʃ əs /

adjective

1. spiteful; malicious.

   vicious gossip;

   a vicious attack.

   Synonyms: malevolent

2. savage; ferocious.

   They all feared his vicious temper.

3. (of an animal) having bad habits or a cruel or fierce disposition.

   a vicious bull.

4. unpleasantly severe.

   a vicious headache.

5. addicted to or characterized by vice; grossly immoral; depraved; profligate.

   a vicious life.

   Synonyms: sinful, iniquitous, corrupt, abandoned Antonyms: moral

6. given or readily disposed to evil.

   a vicious criminal.

7. reprehensible; blameworthy; wrong.

   a vicious deception.

8. characterized or marred by faults or defects; faulty; unsound.

   vicious reasoning.

9. Archaic. morbid, foul, or noxious.

vicious British / ˈvɪʃəs /

adjective

1. wicked or cruel; villainous

   a vicious thug

2. characterized by violence or ferocity

   a vicious blow

3. informal unpleasantly severe; harsh

   a vicious wind

4. characterized by malice

   vicious lies

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

6. characterized by or leading to vice

7. invalidated by defects; unsound

   a vicious inference

8. obsolete noxious or morbid

   a vicious exhalation

"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

Other Word Forms

• unvicious adjective
• unviciously adverb
• unviciousness noun
• viciously adverb
• viciousness noun

Etymology

Origin of vicious

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Then, when a wildfire comes through and natives begin to regrow, they’re chomped back down, creating a vicious cycle.

From Los Angeles Times

“The EU may be trapped in a vicious circle,” the ECA said.

From The Wall Street Journal

Every few centuries, some charlatan, some crawling, vicious soul, would try to get close to the Glimourie Tree—to steal it, to take it for their own.

From Literature

With less money on hand, businesses are limiting wage growth, pausing hiring and shedding employees, which means workers have less to spend, continuing the vicious cycle.

From The Wall Street Journal

Mann was insistent, however, on breaking that vicious cycle.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• atrocious
• barbarous
• cruel
• dangerous
• depraved
• diabolical
• ferocious
• heinous
• infamous
• monstrous
• nefarious
• perverse
• savage
• vile
• violent
• wicked

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.