1
as in evil
not conforming to a high moral standard; morally unacceptable a vile plot to murder their political enemies

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2
3

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective vile contrast with its synonyms?

The words base and low are common synonyms of vile. While all three words mean "deserving of contempt because of the absence of higher values," vile, the strongest of these words, tends to suggest disgusting depravity or filth.

a vile remark

When can base be used instead of vile?

The words base and vile are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, base stresses the ignoble and may suggest cruelty, treachery, greed, or grossness.

base motives

When is low a more appropriate choice than vile?

The meanings of low and vile largely overlap; however, low may connote crafty cunning, vulgarity, or immorality and regularly implies an outraging of one's sense of decency or propriety.

refused to listen to such low talk

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of vile Fans, some of them little kids parroting what their parents were saying, called him vile names. Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 15 Apr. 2025 As previously reported by PEOPLE, alongside receiving vile and sexist messages after her phone number was posted online, the freshman was forced to relocate to emergency housing and switch to online classes to avoid vulgar in-person comments and people taking photographs of her. Latoya Gayle, People.com, 11 Apr. 2025 McCarthy handles these turns well, especially when other cisgender heterosexual boys try to enact the same plan with more vile intentions. Lovia Gyarkye, HollywoodReporter, 3 Apr. 2025 Mikal, Tonya and Jason are vicious, screaming and hurling vile truths at one another. Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 30 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for vile
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vile
Adjective
  • While the practice of using haint blue to ward off evil spirits might not be as common, the color has bled into the mainstream, with major paint companies like Sherwin-Williams and PPG Industries, Inc selling paint inspired by the shade.
    Amaris Encinas, USA Today, 24 Apr. 2025
  • The royal palace is infested with evil spirits and one of them has taken hold of the young prince.
    Joan MacDonald, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Mingyang took the center of the Octagon from the beginning, landed hard leg kicks, and opened a nasty gash on Smith’s forehead with a step-in elbow.
    Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 27 Apr. 2025
  • That is exactly what the Giants need: nastier players on both sides of the ball.
    Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 26 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • The biggest storyline in the series, however, has been all of the ugly hits and bad blood between the two state rivals.
    James Mirtle, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2025
  • Brinkley in her book describes one ugly scene when Joel, deep in his cups, ate a heap of spaghetti directly from a large pan on the stove, then vehemently kicked everyone out of the house for eating his pasta.
    Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 29 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Even children and adolescents express more willingness to shun and punish moral transgressors than people who do something personally obnoxious or offensive but not immoral.
    Jen Cole Wright, The Conversation, 14 Apr. 2025
  • Regardless of what transpired between the two cast members, on or off screen, Aspen was unfairly portrayed as an immoral character.
    Taylor Crumpton, Essence, 11 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Tom Hardy stars in the neo-noir crime thriller as a corrupt detective named Walker, who shoots, punches, and drop-kicks his way through an entire criminal underworld to rescue the estranged son of dirty politician Lawrence Beaumont (Forest Whitaker).
    Mike Miller, EW.com, 26 Apr. 2025
  • Nearly every dish/pan in the place was dirty multiple times a day.
    Michael Nied, People.com, 25 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Within the span of a few days, an innocuous speck can turn a loaf of bread from prime sandwich material into a hideous mass of blue-green fuzz—an appetite-killing sight if ever there was one.
    Caroline Tien, SELF, 1 May 2025
  • The Imperial City Sewers you’re meant to traverse while learning the basics of the game look hideous and vile.
    Jamal Michel, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • That month, Drummond sued the board directly in the Oklahoma Supreme Court and asked it to rescind the charter contract and declare St. Isidore's establishment as a charter school unlawful.
    Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 29 Apr. 2025
  • Of note: Your Content must not be false, defamatory, misleading or hateful, or infringe any copyright or any other third-party rights or otherwise be unlawful.
    Catherine Pearson, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • But this is the cruel and unreasonable state of this Administration's deportation policy.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Apr. 2025
  • Such evidence could support the view that incessant loud noise amounts to torture or cruel treatment towards cetaceans, in turn galvanizing support for a new right to be free from such harm.
    David Gruber, Time, 24 Apr. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Vile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vile. Accessed 8 May. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on vile

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!