1
3
: worsened by internal causes that reciprocally augment each other
a vicious wage-price spiral
viciously
adverb
viciousness
noun
Synonyms
Examples of vicious in a Sentence
Challenging areas of social consensus, however dumb or even vicious the consensus, is largely off limits for the media, because it wins no friends among the general public.
—
Richard A. Posner, New York Times Book Review, 31 July 2005
The genetically vicious nature of presidential campaigns in America is too obvious to argue with, but some people call it fun, and I am one of them.
—Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, Rolling Stone, 11 Nov. 2004
True to Finals form, this hardwood battle has become as vicious as any street scrum.
—Anne Marie Cruz, ESPN, 24 June 2002
For most of my life I have retained a haunting image from an old Tarzan movie: piranhas, those vicious little fish with the arrowhead-shaped teeth, devouring a pig. Forget that there are no piranha in Africa. But they do exist in Brazil, in abundance in the meandering waterways of the Amazon Basin.
—Gerald Eskenazi, New York Times, 6 Oct. 2002
The Olympics always seemed too much like war, vicious old men manipulating youngsters hungry for fame into performing heroic acts for short change.
—Robert Lipsyte, New York Times, 29 July 2001
His slider—a vicious, hard-breaking pitch with which he finished off right-handed hitters for years—was inconsistent and benign, and the velocity of his fastball was diminished.
—Buster Olney, New York Times Magazine, 4 Mar. 2001
a vicious tone of voice
I know you're upset with her, but there's no need to be vicious.
Richard A. Posner, New York Times Book Review, 31 July 2005
The genetically vicious nature of presidential campaigns in America is too obvious to argue with, but some people call it fun, and I am one of them.
—Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, Rolling Stone, 11 Nov. 2004
True to Finals form, this hardwood battle has become as vicious as any street scrum.
—Anne Marie Cruz, ESPN, 24 June 2002
For most of my life I have retained a haunting image from an old Tarzan movie: piranhas, those vicious little fish with the arrowhead-shaped teeth, devouring a pig. Forget that there are no piranha in Africa. But they do exist in Brazil, in abundance in the meandering waterways of the Amazon Basin.
—Gerald Eskenazi, New York Times, 6 Oct. 2002
The Olympics always seemed too much like war, vicious old men manipulating youngsters hungry for fame into performing heroic acts for short change.
—Robert Lipsyte, New York Times, 29 July 2001
His slider—a vicious, hard-breaking pitch with which he finished off right-handed hitters for years—was inconsistent and benign, and the velocity of his fastball was diminished.
—Buster Olney, New York Times Magazine, 4 Mar. 2001
a vicious tone of voice
I know you're upset with her, but there's no need to be vicious.
Recent Examples on the Web
This vicious cycle is only enabling more insecurity, more hate, more destabilization.
—Justine Kenin, NPR, 30 Apr. 2024
Silvey was outraged that authorities were not calling the vicious fatal beating a hate crime and wanted to see more done.
—Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 26 Apr. 2024
Justice Brett Kavanaugh suggested concerns about a vicious cycle of malicious prosecutions hampering presidents for years to come.
—Alexandra Hutzler, ABC News, 25 Apr. 2024
Latham is a vicious run blocker and fits what the Chargers are trying to do on offense.
—Ryan McFadden, The Denver Post, 24 Apr. 2024
The United States, for example, did not act as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and other Gulf states supported Bahrain’s vicious repression of its protests in 2011 and poured financial and political support into the 2013 Egyptian military coup.
—Marc Lynch, Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2024
Unlucky for her, comedy has been all but outlawed, with the only licensed supplier being the United Clown Bureau (a truly vicious parody of both the real-life comedy incubator Upright Citizens Brigade, as well as Saturday Night Live).
—Abraham Josephine Riesman, Rolling Stone, 8 Apr. 2024
There was a vicious cycle that was set in motion by the mortgage crisis.
—Nushrat Rahman, Detroit Free Press, 17 Apr. 2024
Winger Ousmane Dembélé equalized with a vicious strike in the 48th minute, before Vitinha kept his cool to hand his side the lead in the 51st minute.
—Ben Church, CNN, 11 Apr. 2024
Justine Kenin, NPR, 30 Apr. 2024
Silvey was outraged that authorities were not calling the vicious fatal beating a hate crime and wanted to see more done.
—Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 26 Apr. 2024
Justice Brett Kavanaugh suggested concerns about a vicious cycle of malicious prosecutions hampering presidents for years to come.
—Alexandra Hutzler, ABC News, 25 Apr. 2024
Latham is a vicious run blocker and fits what the Chargers are trying to do on offense.
—Ryan McFadden, The Denver Post, 24 Apr. 2024
The United States, for example, did not act as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and other Gulf states supported Bahrain’s vicious repression of its protests in 2011 and poured financial and political support into the 2013 Egyptian military coup.
—Marc Lynch, Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2024
Unlucky for her, comedy has been all but outlawed, with the only licensed supplier being the United Clown Bureau (a truly vicious parody of both the real-life comedy incubator Upright Citizens Brigade, as well as Saturday Night Live).
—Abraham Josephine Riesman, Rolling Stone, 8 Apr. 2024
There was a vicious cycle that was set in motion by the mortgage crisis.
—Nushrat Rahman, Detroit Free Press, 17 Apr. 2024
Winger Ousmane Dembélé equalized with a vicious strike in the 48th minute, before Vitinha kept his cool to hand his side the lead in the 51st minute.
—Ben Church, CNN, 11 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'vicious.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Vicious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vicious. Accessed 3 May. 2024.
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