1
: morally very bad : evil
2
3
a
: disgustingly unpleasant : vile
a wicked odor
b
: causing or likely to cause harm, distress, or trouble
a wicked storm
4
: going beyond reasonable or predictable limits : of exceptional quality or degree
throws a wicked fastball
wickedly
adverb
Synonyms
Adjective
- bad
- dark
- evil
- immoral
- iniquitous
- nefarious
- rotten
- sinful
- unethical
- unlawful
- unrighteous
- unsavory
- vicious
- vile
- villainous
- wrong
Adverb
- achingly
- almighty
- archly
- awful
- awfully
- badly
- beastly
- blisteringly
- bone
- colossally
- corking
- cracking
- damn
- damned
- dang
- deadly
- desperately
- eminently
- enormously
- especially
- ever
- exceedingly
- exceeding
- extra
- extremely
- fabulously
- fantastically
- far
- fiercely
- filthy
- frightfully
- full
- greatly
- heavily
- highly
- hugely
- immensely
- incredibly
- intensely
- jolly
- majorly
- mightily
- mighty
- monstrous [chiefly dialect]
- mortally
- most
- much
- particularly
- passing
- rattling
- real
- really
- right
- roaring
- roaringly
- seriously
- severely
- so
- sore
- sorely
- spanking
- specially
- stinking
- such
- super
- supremely
- surpassingly
- terribly
- that
- thumping
- too
- unco
- uncommonly
- vastly
- very
- vitally
- way
- whacking
- wildly
Examples of wicked in a Sentence
Adjective
a wicked act of cruelty
She played the part of the wicked stepmother in the play.
She wore a wicked grin after her victory.
She's known for having a wicked sense of humor.
She had a wicked case of food poisoning.
A wicked odor was coming from the closet.
He throws a wicked fastball.
Adverb
His car goes wicked fast.
All his friends thought he was wicked cool.
The tickets were wicked expensive.
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Recent Examples on the Web
David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Dec. 2023
In Loma Linda the other day, 85-year-old Loida Medina played a couple of hours of take-no-prisoners pickleball (she’s got a wicked backhand), while Glenn and Jodee Nichols, 94 and 78, went to the gym for a workout.
—Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 2 Dec. 2023
She’s got a wicked sense of humor, also, very morbid.
—Jacklyn Krol, Peoplemag, 24 Nov. 2023
Honey locusts can have wicked thorns — up to eight inches long — and gummy seed pods that make a mess.
—Jeanne Huber, Washington Post, 24 Nov. 2023
Beate was a complex creature, full of wicked humor and perverse decrees and the occasional nutso theory presented as unqualified fact.
—Lucy Sante, The New Yorker, 11 Nov. 2023
The plot, while nicely sketched, is secondary in this play to the sheer wicked pleasures of the flesh.
—Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 6 Nov. 2023
When Edith and fellow residents begin to receive wicked letters full of unintentionally hilarious profanities, fouth-mouthed Rose is charged with the crime.
—Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 3 Nov. 2023
Not that Polanski has been entirely allergic to laughs: Many of his films, including some of his best, have showcased a dark and surreal brand of humor — think, for example, of all the wicked stuff that happens to Nicholson’s Jake Gittes in Chinatown.
—Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Sep. 2023
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Adjective
Farnaby and King’s screenplay strays outside Dahl’s original story to imagine what came before, while remaining more or less true to the author’s thematic playground of pure-hearted children triumphing over wicked adults.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Dec. 2023
In Loma Linda the other day, 85-year-old Loida Medina played a couple of hours of take-no-prisoners pickleball (she’s got a wicked backhand), while Glenn and Jodee Nichols, 94 and 78, went to the gym for a workout.
—Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 2 Dec. 2023
She’s got a wicked sense of humor, also, very morbid.
—Jacklyn Krol, Peoplemag, 24 Nov. 2023
Honey locusts can have wicked thorns — up to eight inches long — and gummy seed pods that make a mess.
—Jeanne Huber, Washington Post, 24 Nov. 2023
Beate was a complex creature, full of wicked humor and perverse decrees and the occasional nutso theory presented as unqualified fact.
—Lucy Sante, The New Yorker, 11 Nov. 2023
The plot, while nicely sketched, is secondary in this play to the sheer wicked pleasures of the flesh.
—Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 6 Nov. 2023
When Edith and fellow residents begin to receive wicked letters full of unintentionally hilarious profanities, fouth-mouthed Rose is charged with the crime.
—Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 3 Nov. 2023
Not that Polanski has been entirely allergic to laughs: Many of his films, including some of his best, have showcased a dark and surreal brand of humor — think, for example, of all the wicked stuff that happens to Nicholson’s Jake Gittes in Chinatown.
—Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Sep. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wicked.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Dictionary Entries Near wicked
Cite this Entry
“Wicked.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wicked. Accessed 11 Dec. 2023.
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More from Merriam-Webster on wicked
Nglish: Translation of wicked for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of wicked for Arabic Speakers
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