Meaning & use
viciously
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Meanings
adverb
In a way that is cruel and violent, with a clear wish to cause harm.
Grammar: Modifies a verb: it tells you how the action was done, as in 'attacked viciously'.
Patterns
- attack someone viciously
- be viciously beaten
- viciously kick something
The dog growled and then bit him viciously on the arm.
Protesters said the crowd was viciously beaten by security guards.
She kicked the door viciously when she found it locked.
adverb
In a very harsh and unfair way, especially when criticizing or mocking someone.
Grammar: Often used with verbs of speaking or writing, such as 'attack', 'criticize' or 'mock'.
Patterns
- criticize someone viciously
- attack someone viciously in the press
- viciously mock someone
The reviewer attacked her first novel viciously, calling it worthless.
He was viciously mocked online for a single mistake.
Their lawyer criticized the report viciously, saying it was full of errors.
adverbfigurative
With sudden, severe force, as of a storm, wind or blow.
Grammar: Used with weather and physical forces; here the harm is not intended by a person.
Patterns
- the wind blows viciously
- rain lashes viciously against something
The wind blew viciously all night and tore tiles off the roof.
Rain lashed viciously against the windows as we waited inside.
Common combinations
- viciously attack someone
- The gang viciously attacked a man outside the station.
- viciously criticize someone
- Critics viciously criticized the plan as a waste of money.
- viciously kick something
- Frustrated, he viciously kicked the chair across the room.
- viciously sarcastic
- Her reply was viciously sarcastic and left him speechless.
- lash out viciously
- The horse lashed out viciously when the vet touched its leg.
Synonyms and how they differ
- brutally
- Suggests extreme physical violence and lack of pity; use it for beatings and killings rather than for harsh words.
- savagely
- Close in meaning, but often suggests wild, animal-like force; it can sound more dramatic than 'viciously'.
- cruelly
- Focuses on the wish to make someone suffer, which may be emotional rather than physical.
- ferociously
- Emphasizes fierce energy and intensity; it works well for attacks and storms but is less common for criticism.
Opposites
Word family
- vicious adjective
- Cruel and violent, or extremely harsh.
- viciousness noun
- The quality of being cruel and violent.
Commonly confused: viciously or viscously? viciously or vicious circle?
viciously vs viscously
This means in a thick, sticky way, like syrup; it sounds almost the same as 'viciously' but has nothing to do with cruelty.
viciously vs vicious circle
A phrase, not an adverb: it means a problem that keeps causing itself.
Practice
The team's coach was ______ criticized in the newspapers after the defeat.
Choose one answer.
'Viciously' is the adverb that describes how the criticizing was done. 'Viscous' and 'viscously' mean thick and sticky, and 'vicious' is an adjective that cannot modify the verb 'criticized'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “viciously”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.