1
as in evil
not conforming to a high moral standard; morally unacceptable
a vile plot to murder their political enemies
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in nasty
not following or in accordance with standards of honor and decency
a vile trick to play on someone
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in ugly
unpleasant to look at
an outfit with a truly vile combination of colors
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of vile
The father even heard the husband shouting vile insults at his son.
—
Rebecca White, New York Daily News, 4 Aug. 2025
Flood died young, a couple of days after his 59th birthday, in 1997, from the vile effects of throat cancer.
—Ian O'Connor, New York Times, 30 July 2025
Arriving in London, Jess has a chance encounter with Felix (Will Sharpe), a broke musician, in a particularly vile pub toilet.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 17 July 2025
The tweets, a vile departure from Elmo’s often inspiring and motivational social media cadence, were sent on July 13 and promptly taken down.
—Zack Sharf, Variety, 14 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for vile
Rebecca White, New York Daily News, 4 Aug. 2025
Flood died young, a couple of days after his 59th birthday, in 1997, from the vile effects of throat cancer.
—Ian O'Connor, New York Times, 30 July 2025
Arriving in London, Jess has a chance encounter with Felix (Will Sharpe), a broke musician, in a particularly vile pub toilet.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 17 July 2025
The tweets, a vile departure from Elmo’s often inspiring and motivational social media cadence, were sent on July 13 and promptly taken down.
—Zack Sharf, Variety, 14 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for vile
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vile
Adjective
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As these evil forces encroach, the pup finds the courage to protect his owner and territory.—
Connor Merrihew,
HollywoodReporter,
18 Aug. 2025
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Somehow the lucky, evil, nefarious Wordle Bot guessed in just two today!—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
16 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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For most people who contract the virus, symptoms resemble those of a nasty cold and include a runny nose, aches, sore throat, congestion and maybe a fever.—
Beth Warren,
The Tennessean,
23 Aug. 2025
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The 37-year-old plays Emilia Harcourt, an agent from the lack ops squad, A.R.G.U.S., who immediately shows off her skills in the season 2 premiere episode beating up men three times her size in a nasty bar brawl.—
Colleen Kratofil,
People.com,
22 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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This obviously created some hard feelings and things got very ugly.—
R. Eric Thomas,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Aug. 2025
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The stan fighting quickly turned ugly; a fan posted a racist meme of Huda as the police officer who murdered George Floyd, with Olandria’s face pasted on Floyd’s.—
Alejandra Gularte,
Vulture,
26 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
This country already has very limited ability to stop the Republicans’ attempt to end democracy in the United States mostly due to their immoral actions on the Supreme Court nominations of Obama and Biden.—
U T Readers,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
24 Aug. 2025
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Rudy flames out on his first day, though, and ends up working for a shady lawyer named Bruiser (Lana Parrilla) and her gleefully immoral paralegal Deck (P.J. Byrne).—
Dave Nemetz,
TVLine,
12 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Cleaning your garbage can is dirty work, but regular scrubbing will keep odors at bay and bugs away.—
Cody Godwin,
USA Today,
24 Aug. 2025
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From day one, The Whispers was about Drill, an alien force that was using children to do its dirty work.—
James Mercadante,
EW.com,
22 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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But the promise turned into disappointment during the Rockies’ hideous first half of the season.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
19 July 2025
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The last two decades spent without a Devil Wears Prada sequel started to feel a little bit like enduring a 20-year hideous skirt convention.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
28 July 2025
Adjective
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He was indicted on two charges, including conspiracy to transport undocumented immigrants and unlawful transportation of migrants without legal status.—
Sergio Martínez-Beltrán,
NPR,
25 Aug. 2025
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There are widespread reports of extrajudicial killings, psychological intimidation, unlawful detentions, torture, child kidnappings and disappearances.—
Kim Hjelmgaard,
USA Today,
24 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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As Wallace and Gromit investigate this mysterious thief, their paths cross with the cruel, trigger-happy Lord Victor Quartermaine (Ralph Fiennes), who has his own ambitions for the competition and Wallace’s love interest, Lady Tottington (Helena Bonham Carter).—
Travis Bean,
Forbes.com,
22 Aug. 2025
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Auggie isn’t a cruel, withholding bigot, but a stable and loving parent.—
Adam B. Vary,
Variety,
22 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Vile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vile. Accessed 1 Sep. 2025.
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