pernicious
adjective/pəˈnɪʃəs/
/pərˈnɪʃəs/
(formal)- having a very harmful effect on somebody/something, especially in a way that is not easily noticed
- the pernicious influence of TV violence on children
- Ageism is equally as offensive and pernicious as sexism.
Oxford Collocations DictionaryPernicious is used with these nouns:- influence
- myth
Word Originlate Middle English: from Latin perniciosus ‘destructive’, from pernicies ‘ruin’, based on nex, nec- ‘death’.
Check pronunciation:
pernicious