Pernicious — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

exceedingly harmful

working or spreading in a hidden and usually injurious way

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/pɜːnˈɪʃəs/

🇬🇧British English

/pɜːnˈɪʃəs/

🇮🇳Indian English

/pɜːnˈɪʃəs/

3 syllables Say it as /pɜːnˈɪʃəs/.

Examples

glaucoma is an insidious disease
a subtle poison

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

insidious subtle deadly pestilent baneful

Parts of Speech

adjective	exceedingly harmful
adjective	working or spreading in a hidden and usually injurious way “glaucoma is an insidious disease”

Word Forms

deadliness	noun	the quality of being deadly
perniciousness	noun	grave harmfulness or deadliness
pestilence	noun	a pernicious and malign influence that is hard to get rid of
insidiousness	noun	subtle and cumulative harmfulness (especially of a disease)

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

schädlich

überaus schädlich

🇫🇷French

pernicieux

extrêmement nocif

🇪🇸Spanish

pernicioso

extremadamente dañino

🇮🇹Italian

pernicioso

estremamente dannoso

🇳🇱Dutch

verderfelijk

buitengewoon schadelijk

🇵🇹Portuguese

pernicioso

extremamente prejudicial

🇷🇺Russian

пагубный

чрезвычайно вреден

India

🇮🇳Hindi

हानिकारक

अत्यधिक हानिकारक

🇧🇩Bengali

ক্ষতিকর

অত্যন্ত ক্ষতিকর

🇮🇳Tamil

தீங்கு விளைவிக்கும்

மிகவும் தீங்கு விளைவிக்கும்

🇮🇳Telugu

హానికరమైన

అత్యంత హానికరం

🇮🇳Marathi

अपायकारक

अत्यंत हानिकारक

🇮🇳Gujarati

હાનિકારક

અતિશય હાનિકારક

🇮🇳Kannada

ವಿನಾಶಕಾರಿ

ಅತ್ಯಂತ ಹಾನಿಕಾರಕ

🇮🇳Malayalam

വിനാശകരമായ

അത്യന്തം ഹാനികരം

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਨੁਕਸਾਨਦੇਹ

ਬਹੁਤ ਜ਼ਿਆਦਾ ਨੁਕਸਾਨਦੇਹ

🇵🇰Urdu

نقصان دہ

انتہائی نقصان دہ

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

有害

极其有害

🇯🇵Japanese

有害な

極めて有害な

🇰🇷Korean

유해한

매우 해롭다

🇻🇳Vietnamese

nguy hiểm

cực kỳ có hại

🇹🇭Thai

เป็นอันตราย

เป็นอันตรายอย่างยิ่ง

🇮🇩Indonesian

jahat

sangat berbahaya

🇵🇭Filipino

nakapipinsala

lubhang nakakapinsala

🇲🇾Malay

merosakkan

amat memudaratkan

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

خبيث

ضارة للغاية

🇮🇷Persian

مخرب

فوق العاده مضر

🇹🇷Turkish

zararlı

son derece zararlı

🇮🇱Hebrew

מַמְאִיר

מזיק ביותר

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'pernicious'?

The primary meaning of 'pernicious' is 'exceedingly harmful'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'pernicious' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'pernicious' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'pernicious' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'pernicious' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'pernicious' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

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Never

Do you find 'pernicious' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'pernicious' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'pernicious' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'pernicious' in a professional email?

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Never

Would you classify 'pernicious' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

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