viciousness C1 Topic:People & Society US /ˈvɪʃəsnɪs/ See IPA manual Freq #59342 Meanings 1 noun the trait of extreme cruelty The murder's viciousness shocked the town. Thesaurus Synonyms brutalitymalignitynastiness Etymology From Middle English viciousnesse; equivalent to vicious + -ness. viciousnesse Middle English View etymology graph -> Topics People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # viciousness **Type:** Word **Level:** C1 **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈvɪʃəsnɪs/ **Frequency rank:** 59342 ## Meanings 1. the trait of extreme cruelty ## Examples - The murder's viciousness shocked the town. ## Synonyms - brutality - malignity - nastiness ## Roots and Affixes - Root: viciousnesse ## Etymology From Middle English viciousnesse; equivalent to vicious + -ness. ## Topics - People & Society - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown