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Definition of vicious adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

vicious

adjective
 
/ˈvɪʃəs/
 
/ˈvɪʃəs/
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  1. violent and cruel synonym brutal
    • a vicious attack
    • a vicious criminal
    • She has a vicious temper.
    • Police described the robbery as particularly vicious.
    Extra Examples
    • a particularly vicious and brutal crime
    • He was set upon by vicious thugs.
    • This was a particularly vicious assault.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • look
    • sound
    adverb
    • extremely
    • fairly
    • very
    See full entry
  2. (of animals) aggressive and dangerous
    • a vicious dog
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • look
    • sound
    adverb
    • extremely
    • fairly
    • very
    See full entry
  3. (of an attack, criticism, etc.) full of hate and anger
    • She wrote me a vicious letter.
    • The newspapers launched a vicious attack on him, forcing him to resign.
    • The article was vicious in its criticism of the prime minister.
    Extra Examples
    • I've done nothing to deserve all your vicious insinuations.
    • She wrote me a vicious letter after the incident.
    • The committee was particularly vicious in its criticism of the management.
    • They conducted a vicious campaign of misinformation and propaganda.
    • The play is a vicious attack on the nouveau riche.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • look
    • sound
    adverb
    • extremely
    • fairly
    • very
    See full entry
  4. (informal) very bad or severe
    • a vicious headache
    • a vicious spiral of rising prices
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • look
    • sound
    adverb
    • extremely
    • fairly
    • very
    See full entry
  5. Word OriginMiddle English (in the sense ‘characterized by immorality’): from Old French vicious or Latin vitiosus, from vitium ‘vice’.
See vicious in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee vicious in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
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