as in malicious
having or showing a desire to cause someone pain or suffering for the sheer enjoyment of it
the virulent look on her face warned me that she was about to say something unkind
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Recent Examples of virulent
Just then, however, a virulent backlash against generative A.I. swept through Hollywood.
—
Brooks Barnes, New York Times, 21 May 2025
The virulent Delta variant, for example, appeared in the spring of 2021 and was overtaken by the Omicron variant, which also caused severe disease, that November.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 8 May 2025
After being the target of virulent antisemitism as a child and while grappling with drug addiction as a young man, Isaacs stumbled into acting — and quickly made a name for himself.
—Scott Feinberg, HollywoodReporter, 21 Apr. 2025
His virulent material once led to a ban on almost every social media platform.
—Sana Noor Haq, CNN Money, 10 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for virulent
Brooks Barnes, New York Times, 21 May 2025
The virulent Delta variant, for example, appeared in the spring of 2021 and was overtaken by the Omicron variant, which also caused severe disease, that November.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 8 May 2025
After being the target of virulent antisemitism as a child and while grappling with drug addiction as a young man, Isaacs stumbled into acting — and quickly made a name for himself.
—Scott Feinberg, HollywoodReporter, 21 Apr. 2025
His virulent material once led to a ban on almost every social media platform.
—Sana Noor Haq, CNN Money, 10 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for virulent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for virulent
Adjective
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This is the threat potential given commonalities despite seemingly different developers, and those links to malicious domains.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
4 June 2025
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Newark Mayor Ras Baraka filed a lawsuit against interim U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Alina Habba on Tuesday, accusing her of malicious prosecution over his arrest outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility last month.—
Alexander Mallin,
ABC News,
3 June 2025
Adjective
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There are other objects of worship from the days when Japan’s Christians had to hide from vicious persecution, including a ceramic bottle of holy water from Nakaenoshima, an island where Hidden Christians were martyred in the 1620s.—
Foster Klug,
Los Angeles Times,
4 June 2025
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Years before the Kendrick Lamar and Drake imbroglio, Pusha T shared his own vicious diss track against the Canadian hip-hop superstar.—
Matthew Strauss,
Pitchfork,
3 June 2025
Adjective
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The reason Evin is infamous is because of its terribly cruel high security detention centers that are poorly supervised by the Prison Chief.—
Jeff Kaufman,
Time,
30 May 2025
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But then perhaps that is her unsatisfying but depressingly undeniable point: there is no challenging minds this small, behaviors this cruel, spirits this mean.—
Jessica Kiang,
Variety,
30 May 2025
Adjective
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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.—
Will Matsuda,
New York Times,
23 May 2025
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The league is focused on four key areas: enhanced technological features to detect hateful comments online; increased emphasis on team, arena and league security measures; reinforcing mental health resources; and alignment of core against hate.—
Doug Feinberg,
Chicago Tribune,
18 May 2025
Adjective
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Well, as referenced above, the United States was coming out of a nasty recession tied to the crisis in the mortgage market.—
Ken Roberts,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2025
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Depending on a team to string together hits — or even contact — to score multiple runs in an inning against pitchers with nasty stuff is a hard way to win.—
Ralph D. Russo,
New York Times,
30 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Virulent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/virulent. Accessed 7 Jun. 2025.
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