vicious

C1 Topic:Describing Qualities

Also spelled wicious

US /ˈvɪʃəs/ See IPA manual

Freq #5651

Meanings

1

adj
Violent and dangerous; likely to attack or hurt someone.

A vicious dog chased the children down the street.
2

adj
Cruel and full of hatred; intended to hurt someone.

She faced a vicious attack from her critics online.
3

adj
Very severe or unpleasant.

A vicious storm tore the roof off the house.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · violent and dangerous;... savage brutal cruel

2 adj · cruel and full of hatred;... malicious poisonous

3 adj · very severe or unpleasant. fierce

More scathy

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

vicious cycle
a repeating sequence in which problems make one another worse

Adjective + noun

Idioms (1)

See all

vicious circle
a loop of cause and effect in which each problem makes the next one worse

Simplified etymology

Vicious derives from Latin vitium, “vice,” which is also the source of vice in its moral sense. In Middle English vicious meant “showing vice.” In the early 18th century it was extended to mean “savage” in descriptions of bad-tempered horses, and in the 19th century it acquired the meaning “spiteful.”

Etymology

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.

vicious Middle English vitiōsus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# vicious

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈvɪʃəs/
**Frequency rank:** 5651

## Meanings
1. Violent and dangerous; likely to attack or hurt someone.
2. Cruel and full of hatred; intended to hurt someone.
3. Very severe or unpleasant.

## Examples
- A vicious dog chased the children down the street.
- She faced a vicious attack from her critics online.
- A vicious storm tore the roof off the house.

## Synonyms
- scathy

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: vicious
- Root: vitiōsus

## Etymology
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.

## AI Etymology
Vicious is from Middle English vicious, from Anglo-Norman vicious, (modern French vicieux), from Latin vitiōsus, from vitium (“fault, vice”). Equivalent to vice + -ous. The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern adjectival form is built from the named base and affix. In present-day use, it can mean violent and dangerous; likely to attack or hurt someone, or cruel and full of hatred; intended to hurt someone.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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