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: worsened by internal causes that reciprocally augment each other
a vicious wage-price spiral
viciously
adverb
viciousness
noun
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
Sandhagen dispatched Edgar with a vicious flying knee 28 seconds into that bout.
—Trent Reinsmith, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025
In its most memorable moment, Walker dispatches a particularly vicious henchwoman with a harpoon to the neck.
—Mike Miller, EW.com, 26 Apr. 2025
With two hits, one hit-by-pitch and zero outs recorded, Williams then left the mound to a vicious chorus of boos as Aaron Boone summoned Mark Leiter Jr. — not Weaver — from the bullpen.
—Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 26 Apr. 2025
Congestion, nasal swelling, and airway constriction increase with sleep but can also disrupt sleep, leading to a vicious cycle of broken sleep as breathing is interrupted.
—Rachael Zimlich, Bsn, Rn, Verywell Health, 25 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for vicious
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Trent Reinsmith, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025
In its most memorable moment, Walker dispatches a particularly vicious henchwoman with a harpoon to the neck.
—Mike Miller, EW.com, 26 Apr. 2025
With two hits, one hit-by-pitch and zero outs recorded, Williams then left the mound to a vicious chorus of boos as Aaron Boone summoned Mark Leiter Jr. — not Weaver — from the bullpen.
—Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 26 Apr. 2025
Congestion, nasal swelling, and airway constriction increase with sleep but can also disrupt sleep, leading to a vicious cycle of broken sleep as breathing is interrupted.
—Rachael Zimlich, Bsn, Rn, Verywell Health, 25 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for vicious
Cite this Entry
“Vicious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vicious. Accessed 3 May. 2025.
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