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)
• 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: please add this translation if you can
• 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
• 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

Declension of vicious

Number	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