Origin: Latin
suffix -ous
Vicious has 6 different meanings across 2 categories:
Adjective
· Proper Noun
Adjective
1
(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering
"a barbarous crime"
"brutal beatings"
"cruel tortures"
"Stalin's roughshod treatment of the kulaks"
"a savage slap"
"vicious kicks"
2
having the nature of vice
"The vicious reputation of the gang kept honest citizens away from their neighborhood at night."
3
bringing or deserving severe rebuke or censure
"a criminal waste of talent"
"a deplorable act of violence"
"adultery is as reprehensible for a husband as for a wife"
4
marked by deep ill will; deliberately harmful
"poisonous hate"
"venomous criticism"
"vicious gossip"
5
Violent, destructive and cruel.
"The vicious storm tore through the neighborhood, leaving destruction in its wake while showing no mercy to anyone caught outside."
In plain English: Vicious means cruel and intended to cause serious harm, usually through violence.
"The vicious dog bit the man's leg while he was sleeping in his yard."
Proper Noun
1
A surname.
"The Vicious family has lived in that house for three generations."
Example Sentences
"The vicious dog bit the man's leg while he was sleeping in his yard."
adj
"The dog let out a vicious growl when it saw the mail carrier."
adj
"She had to deal with some vicious critics after publishing her new article."
adj
"Our team faced a vicious storm that knocked down several trees near our house."
adj
Related Terms
Show all 24 terms ↓
Origin
PIE word *dwóh₁ From Middle English vicious, from Anglo-Norman vicious, (modern French vicieux), from Latin vitiōsus, from vitium ("fault, vice"). Equivalent to vice + -ous.