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Antonyms for vicious

Grammar : Adj
Spell : vish-uhs
Phonetic Transcription : ˈvɪʃ əs

Definition of vicious

Origin :
  • early 14c. (implied in viciously), "of the nature of vice, wicked," from Anglo-French vicious, Old French vicieus, from Latin vitiosus "faulty, defective, corrupt," from vitium "fault" (see vice (n.1)). Meaning "inclined to be savage or dangerous" is first recorded 1711 (originally of animals, especially horses); that of "full of spite, bitter, severe" is from 1825. In law, "marred by some inherent fault" (late 14c.), hence also this sense in logic (c.1600); cf. vicious circle in reasoning (c.1792, Latin circulus vitiosus), which was given a general sense of "a situation in which action and reaction intensify one another" by 1839.
  • adj corrupt, wrong
  • adj nasty, hateful
Example sentences :
  • But can the safety of the state be secured by merely excluding the vicious poor?
  • Extract from : « Philothea » by Lydia Maria Child
  • The fatuity of vicious and coroneted youth outstripped his discretion.
  • Extract from : « Viviette » by William J. Locke
  • Our steward was a Portuguese negro, of the most vicious and surly temper.
  • Extract from : « Ned Myers » by James Fenimore Cooper
  • Of all classes of our population the most vicious is that of the free colored.
  • Extract from : « The Works of Whittier, Volume VII (of VII) » by John Greenleaf Whittier
  • But Heman had climbed into the pung, and given Old Gameleg a vicious cut.
  • Extract from : « Meadow Grass » by Alice Brown
  • The fingers of the knitting women were vicious, with the experience that they could tear.
  • Extract from : « A Tale of Two Cities » by Charles Dickens
  • That is, vicious pronounciations in regard to their Irish brogues.
  • Extract from : « Tales And Novels, Volume 8 (of 10) » by Maria Edgeworth
  • Mosquitoes, it seemed to me, were never so numerous or vicious as after this thunderstorm.
  • Extract from : « The Long Labrador Trail » by Dillon Wallace
  • A vicious kick given to a stone on the lawn emphasized the remark.
  • Extract from : « The Coryston Family » by Mrs. Humphry Ward
  • Into his snarl he incorporated all that was vicious, malignant, and horrible.
  • Extract from : « White Fang » by Jack London

Synonyms for vicious

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019