vicious

See also: Vicious

English

Alternative forms

• vitious (obsolete)

Etymology

PIE word
*dwóh₁

From Middle English vicious, from Anglo-Norman vicious, (modern French vicieux), from Latin vitiōsus, from vitium (“fault, vice”). Equivalent to vice +‎ -ous.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvɪʃəs/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪʃəs

Adjective

vicious (comparative more vicious or viciouser, superlative most vicious or viciousest)

1. Violent, destructive and cruel.
2. Savage and aggressive.
   • 1922, Michael Arlen, “2/9/1”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days:

     He had always been remarkably immune from such little ailments, and had only once in his life been ill, of a vicious pneumonia long ago at school. He hadn't the faintest idea what to with a cold in the head, he just took quinine and continued to blow his nose.

3. (archaic) Pertaining to vice; characterised by immorality or depravity.
   • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, translated by John Florio, The Essayes […], London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:
     , Folio Society, 2006, vol.1, p.195:

     We may so seize on vertue, that if we embrace it with an over-greedy and violent desire, it may become vicious.

   • 1930, Ogden Nash, Lines to Be Mumbled at Ovington's:

     A murrain on you, Reverend Apse/I hope you get caught in a vicious moral lapse.

Synonyms

• scathy

Derived terms

• vicious circle
• vicious cycle
• vicious intromission

Related terms

• See vice#Related_terms

Translations

violent, destructive

• Albanian: please add this translation if you can
• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Bulgarian: зъл (bg) (zǎl), злобен (bg) (zloben)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Estonian: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: raju (fi), tuhoisa (fi), väkivaltainen (fi)
• French: violent(e), destructif (m)/destructive (f)
• Georgian: დამანგრეველი (damangreveli), აგრესიული (agresiuli)
• German: gewalttätig (de), destruktiv (de)
• Hungarian: rosszindulatú (hu), rossz (hu), gonosz (hu)
• Italian: violento (it)
• Japanese: 狂暴 (kyōbō) (violent, furious), 危険 (ja) (kiken) (dangerous)
• Latvian: please add this translation if you can
• Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
• Polish: bezwzględny (pl), zacietrzewiony (pl)
• Portuguese: atroz (pt), brutal (pt), cruel (pt), desapiedado (pt) m, destrutivo (pt) m, sanguinolento (pt) m, violento (pt) m
• Romanian: please add this translation if you can
• Russian: злой (ru) (zloj), зло́бный (ru) (zlóbnyj), я́ростный (ru) (járostnyj), свире́пый (ru) (svirépyj)
• Slovak: please add this translation if you can
• Spanish: violento (es), destructivo (es), feroz (es), despiadado (es), brutal (es), atroz (es), sanguinario (es), malicioso (es), cruel (es)
• Turkish: agresif (tr), saldırgan (tr)
• Ukrainian: please add this translation if you can

savage, aggressive

• Asturian: bravu (ast)
• Finnish: raaka (fi), julma (fi), ärhäkkä (fi), aggressiivinen (fi)
• Georgian: აგრესიული (agresiuli), ველური (veluri)
• German: grausam (de), aggressiv (de)
• Hungarian: vad (hu), dühödt (hu), ádáz (hu)
• Italian: aggressivo (it)
• Japanese: 狂暴 (kyōbō) (violent, furious), 危険 (ja) (kiken) (dangerous)
• Polish: narowisty
• Portuguese: agressivo (pt) m, selvagem (pt)
• Spanish: salvaje (es), agresivo (es), despiadado (es), brutal (es), atroz (es), feroz (es), fiero (es)
• Turkish: agresif (tr)

pertaining to vice; characterised by immorality or depravity

• Armenian: արատավոր (hy) (aratavor)
• Bulgarian: порочен (bg) (poročen)
• Cebuano: mapintas nga
• Czech: neřestný
• Esperanto: malvirta
• Finnish: paheellinen (fi)
• French: vicieux (fr)
• Georgian: მანკიერი (manḳieri), ბიწიერი (bic̣ieri), უზნეო (uzneo)
• German: böse (de), boshaft (de), übel (de), unmoralisch (de)
• Gothic: 𐌿𐌽𐌼𐌰𐌽𐌰𐍂𐌹𐌲𐌲𐍅𐍃 (unmanariggws)
• Hungarian: erkölcstelen (hu)
• Igbo: ajọ
• Irish: ainbhéasach, coirpe, drochmhúinte, duáilceach, mínáireach, oilbhéasach, olc
• Japanese: 悪徳 (ja) (akutoku) (dishonest, crooked), 堕落した (ja) (daraku shita) (corrupt, depraved)
• Javanese: ganas (jv)
• Latin: vitiosus
• Russian: поро́чный (ru) (poróčnyj)
• Spanish: vicioso (es)
• Swedish: illvillig (sv), elak (sv), ond (sv), omoralisk (sv)
• Turkish: ahlaksız (tr), kötü (tr), muzır (tr)
• Welsh: gwydus

Middle English

Alternative forms

• viciows, vicius, vycious, vycyus, vicyous, vecyous, vysyous, vycios, vycyous, vicyows

Etymology

Borrowed from Anglo-Norman vicious, from Latin vitiōsus; equivalent to vice +‎ -ous.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /visiˈuːs/, /visˈjuːs/, /ˈvisjus/

Adjective

vicious (plural and weak singular viciouse)

1. Iniquitous, sinful, wicked (often in a way that causes harm or vice to/in others)
2. (rare) Lacking purity or cleanness; spoiled or defiled.
3. (rare) Inaccurate, modified, or debased; of substandard quality.
4. (rare) Injurious, dangerous; causing serious harm.

Descendants

• English: vicious
• Scots: veecious

References

• “viciǒus, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-03-01.

Old French

Etymology

From Latin vitiōsus.

Adjective

vicious m (oblique and nominative feminine singular viciouse)

1. vicious; malicious
2. defective; not capable of functioning

Declension

	Case	masculine	feminine	neuter
singular	subject	vicious	viciouse	vicious
	oblique	vicious			viciouse	vicious
plural	subject	vicious	viciouses		vicious
	oblique	vicious			viciouses	vicious

Descendants

• Middle English: vicious, viciows, vicius, vycious, vycyus, vicyous, vecyous, vysyous, vycios, vycyous, vicyows
  • English: vicious
  • Scots: veecious

References

• vicios on the Anglo-Norman On-Line Hub