Vicious — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

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

having the nature of vice

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/vˈɪʃəs/

🇬🇧British English

/vˈɪʃəs/

🇮🇳Indian English

/vˈɪʃəs/

2 syllables Say it as /vˈɪʃəs/.

Examples

a barbarous crime
brutal beatings
cruel tortures

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

fell condemnable barbarous criminal deplorable reprehensible savage poisonous roughshod venomous brutal evil cruel

Parts of Speech

adjective	(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering “a barbarous crime”
adjective	having the nature of vice
adjective	bringing or deserving severe rebuke or censure “a criminal waste of talent”
adjective	marked by deep ill will; deliberately harmful “poisonous hate”

Word Forms

barbarousness	noun	the quality of being shockingly cruel and inhumane
brutality	noun	the trait of extreme cruelty
cruelness	noun	the quality of being cruel and causing tension or annoyance
savage	noun	a cruelly rapacious person
savageness	noun	the property of being untamed and ferocious
viciousness	noun	the trait of extreme cruelty
evilness	noun	the quality of being morally wrong in principle or practice
vice	noun	a specific form of evildoing
reprehend	verb	express strong disapproval of
reprehensibility	noun	being reprehensible; worthy of and deserving reprehension or reproof
poison	noun	anything that harms or destroys
venom	noun	feeling a need to see others suffer

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

bösartig

(von Personen oder deren Handlungen), die in der Lage oder bereit sind, Schmerz oder Leid zu verursachen

🇫🇷French

vicieux

(de personnes ou de leurs actions) capables ou disposés à infliger une douleur ou des souffrances

🇪🇸Spanish

vicioso

(de personas o sus acciones) capaces o dispuestos a infligir dolor o sufrimiento

🇮🇹Italian

vizioso

(di persone o delle loro azioni) in grado o disposto a infliggere dolore o sofferenza

🇳🇱Dutch

gemeen

(van personen of hun daden) die in staat of geneigd zijn pijn of lijden toe te brengen

🇵🇹Portuguese

vicioso

(de pessoas ou de suas ações) capaz ou disposto a infligir dor ou sofrimento

🇷🇺Russian

беспощадный

(о людях или их действиях), способных или склонных причинять боль или страдания

India

🇮🇳Hindi

दुष्ट

(व्यक्तियों या उनके कार्यों का) दर्द या पीड़ा पहुंचाने में सक्षम या प्रवृत्त

🇧🇩Bengali

দুষ্ট

(ব্যক্তি বা তাদের কর্মের) ব্যথা বা কষ্ট দিতে সক্ষম বা নিষ্পত্তি করা হয়েছে

🇮🇳Tamil

தீய

(நபர்கள் அல்லது அவர்களின் செயல்கள்) வலி அல்லது துன்பத்தை ஏற்படுத்தக்கூடிய அல்லது அகற்றப்பட்டவை

🇮🇳Telugu

దుర్మార్గమైన

(వ్యక్తులు లేదా వారి చర్యలు) నొప్పి లేదా బాధను కలిగించగల సామర్థ్యం లేదా పారవేయడం

🇮🇳Marathi

दुष्ट

(व्यक्ती किंवा त्यांच्या कृतींचे) वेदना किंवा दुःख देण्यास सक्षम किंवा विल्हेवाट लावलेले

🇮🇳Gujarati

પાપી

(વ્યક્તિઓ અથવા તેમની ક્રિયાઓ) પીડા અથવા દુઃખ પહોંચાડવા માટે સક્ષમ અથવા નિકાલ

🇮🇳Kannada

ಕೆಟ್ಟ

(ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿಗಳು ಅಥವಾ ಅವರ ಕ್ರಿಯೆಗಳು) ನೋವು ಅಥವಾ ಸಂಕಟವನ್ನು ಉಂಟುಮಾಡಲು ಸಮರ್ಥ ಅಥವಾ ವಿಲೇವಾರಿ

🇮🇳Malayalam

ദുഷിച്ച

(വ്യക്തികളുടെ അല്ലെങ്കിൽ അവരുടെ പ്രവൃത്തികൾ) വേദനയോ കഷ്ടപ്പാടോ വരുത്താൻ കഴിവുള്ളതോ അല്ലെങ്കിൽ വിനിയോഗിക്കുന്നതോ

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਵਹਿਸ਼ੀ

(ਵਿਅਕਤੀਆਂ ਜਾਂ ਉਹਨਾਂ ਦੀਆਂ ਕਾਰਵਾਈਆਂ ਦਾ) ਦਰਦ ਜਾਂ ਦੁੱਖ ਪਹੁੰਚਾਉਣ ਦੇ ਯੋਗ ਜਾਂ ਨਿਪਟਾਰਾ

🇵🇰Urdu

شیطانی

(افراد یا ان کے اعمال کا) درد یا تکلیف پہنچانے کے قابل یا ڈسپوزل

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

恶毒

（人或其行为）能够或倾向于造成痛苦或痛苦

🇯🇵Japanese

悪質な

（人やその行動について）痛みや苦痛を与えることができる、または与える傾向がある

🇰🇷Korean

나쁜

(사람이나 그들의 행동이) 고통이나 괴로움을 줄 수 있거나 가할 수 있는 성향이 있는 경우

🇻🇳Vietnamese

luẩn quẩn

(của những người hoặc hành động của họ) có thể hoặc sẵn sàng gây ra đau đớn hoặc đau khổ

🇹🇭Thai

ชั่วร้าย

(ของบุคคลหรือการกระทำของพวกเขา) ที่สามารถหรือมีลักษณะที่จะทำให้เกิดความเจ็บปวดหรือความทุกข์ทรมานได้

🇮🇩Indonesian

jahat

(orang atau tindakan mereka) mampu atau cenderung menimbulkan rasa sakit atau penderitaan

🇵🇭Filipino

mabisyo

(ng mga tao o kanilang mga aksyon) na may kakayahan o nakalaan upang magdulot ng sakit o pagdurusa

🇲🇾Malay

ganas

(orang atau tindakan mereka) mampu atau bersedia untuk menimbulkan kesakitan atau penderitaan

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

شرير

(للأشخاص أو أفعالهم) القادرين أو المستعدين لإلحاق الألم أو المعاناة

🇮🇷Persian

باطل

(افراد یا اعمال آنها) قادر یا آماده ایجاد درد یا رنج

🇹🇷Turkish

kısır

(kişilerin veya onların eylemlerinin) acı veya ıstırap çektirmeye muktedir veya istekli olması

🇮🇱Hebrew

מְרוּשָׁע

(של אנשים או מעשיהם) המסוגלים או נוטים לגרום כאב או סבל

Test Yourself1 / 3

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

The primary meaning of 'vicious' is '(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering'.

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

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

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

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

Community Poll1 / 6

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

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'vicious' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

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

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

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

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

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

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

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

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted