Meaning & use
vicious
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Cruel and violent, and clearly meant to hurt someone badly.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after a verb: a vicious attack, the dog was vicious.
Patterns
- a vicious attack on someone
- vicious to someone
The two men were arrested after a vicious attack outside the station.
Some of the online comments about her were truly vicious.
The dog looked friendly, but it turned vicious when strangers came near.
adjectivebefore a nouninformal
Very severe or harsh in force, like a storm, pain or competition.
Grammar: Usually placed before the noun: a vicious wind, a vicious headache.
Patterns
- a vicious storm
- a vicious cycle
A vicious wind tore the tents from the ground.
He woke up with a vicious headache.
Prices and wages kept pushing each other up in a vicious circle.
Word forms
| comparative | more vicious |
|---|---|
| superlative | most vicious |
Common combinations
- vicious attack
- The vicious attack left the victim in hospital for weeks.
- vicious circle
- Debt led to stress, and stress led to more debt: a vicious circle.
- vicious rumor
- A vicious rumor about the coach spread through the town.
- vicious temper
- He was known for his vicious temper.
- vicious dog
- The sign warned of a vicious dog.
Synonyms and how they differ
- brutal
- Stresses harsh physical violence and lack of mercy, while vicious also covers spiteful words.
- savage
- Suggests wild, uncontrolled ferocity, often more dramatic than vicious.
- spiteful
- Describes a petty wish to hurt someone, usually in words rather than violence.
- malicious
- Focuses on the intention to do harm, and is a little more formal.
Opposites
Word family
- viciously adverb
- in a cruel or violent way
- viciousness noun
- the quality of being cruel or violent
- vice noun
- a bad habit or immoral behavior
Commonly confused: vicious or viscous?
vicious vs viscous
Viscous means thick and sticky, like honey, and has nothing to do with cruelty.
Practice
Which word best completes the sentence? The critic wrote a ___ review that mocked every actor by name.
Choose one answer.
Vicious fits a cruel, harmful review. Viscous sounds similar but means thick and sticky; vivid means bright or lifelike.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “vicious”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.