wicked

1 of 2

adjective

wick·​ed ˈwi-kəd 

1

: morally very bad : evil

2

a

: fierce, vicious

a wicked dog

b

: disposed to or marked by mischief : roguish

does wicked impersonations

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

wicked

2 of 2

adverb

: very, extremely

wicked fast

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.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Robertson has a wicked release and high work rate, scoring 29 goals across the past two seasons despite seeing limited power-play time. 13. —Chris Johnston, New York Times, 29 May 2025

Silo is a wicked and bingeable slow burn with a tantalizing central mystery. —Barry Levitt, Time, 26 May 2025

This one says that offshore holding companies are wicked and should be penalized. —William Baldwin, Forbes.com, 24 May 2025

One scene in the school pool does a particularly wicked job of emphasizing Ducournau’s strengths, as the director makes a visceral, bloody spectacle of Alpha’s social pariah status. —David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 19 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English, alteration of wicke wicked, perhaps from Old English wicca

First Known Use

Adjective

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adverb

1980, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

wicked

adjective

wick·​ed

ˈwik-əd

1

: morally bad : evil

2

: given to mischief : roguish

a wicked glance

3

a

: very unpleasant

a wicked odor

b

: causing or likely to cause harm or trouble

a wicked storm

wickedly adverb

wickedness noun