Skip to main content

viciousdeliberately cruel or violent

Part of speech: ADJECTIVE

Definition: deliberately cruel or violent

Pronunciation (IPA): /ˈvɪʃəs/

Example Sentences

  • My neighbor's cat is so vicious, it attacked my pizza delivery guy twice!
  • The vicious storm destroyed half the town's WiFi towers.
  • She broke the vicious cycle of eating ice cream while watching sad movies.

vicious

ADJECTIVE

[/ˈvɪʃəs/]

deliberately cruel or violent

The vicious wolf lunged at the shepherd with bared fangs.
💡 Concept

The vicious wolf lunged at the shepherd with bared fangs.

Vi says 'shush' while being vicious — cruelly violent!
🧠 Mnemonic

Vi says 'shush' while being vicious — cruelly violent!

A vicious chef makes delicious treats look suspicious
🎵 Rhyme

A vicious chef makes delicious treats look suspicious

Got the picture? Now let's practice.

🎤Pronunciation

🇺🇸 US/ˈvɪʃəs/
🇬🇧 UK/ˈvɪʃəs/

🌳Etymology

Rootvici
Suffix--ous

Origin

From Latin 'vitiosus' meaning 'faulty' or 'defective', derived from 'vitium' meaning 'fault' or 'vice'. The word evolved through Old French 'vicious' to enter Middle English with the sense of moral depravity and violent behavior.

Breakdown

viti- (fault, vice from Latin vitium) + -ous (adjective suffix meaning 'full of' or 'characterized by') = vicious (full of vice or faults; deliberately cruel)

🎵Rhyme

delicioussuspiciousambitious
delicious
suspicious
ambitious

🔗Collocations

vicious cycle
vicious attack
vicious rumors
vicious criticism
vicious dog
vicious circle

📝Examples

😄 Fun example

My neighbor's cat is so vicious, it attacked my pizza delivery guy twice!

The vicious storm destroyed half the town's WiFi towers.

😄 Fun example

She broke the vicious cycle of eating ice cream while watching sad movies.

The celebrity faced vicious online harassment after the scandal.

📚Related Words

Synonyms

cruelsavagebrutalmaliciousfierce

Antonyms

gentlekindbenevolent

Related

violenceaggressionhostilitymalice

Want to master 19,000+ words?

Sign up free for flashcards & quizzes.