as in hatefully
in a mean or spiteful manner
the administrator viciously denied me the time off that I needed to attend my dear aunt's funeral
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Recent Examples of viciously
Young mother Rachel Nickell is brutally murdered in her own home, stabbed with scissors so viciously that a blade gets lodged in her skull.
—
K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 29 May 2026
The marchers were viciously beaten by Alabama state troopers; Lewis suffered a skull fracture and was nearly killed.
—Jemele Hill, The Atlantic, 21 May 2026
Grainy video footage from those protests reveal the brutality of the Revolutionary Guard Corps, who drag students into the street, viciously beat them and then leave them wounded on the ground.
—Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 17 May 2026
Taskin then swung one viciously past Awais, a centurion in the first test, who pushed the delivery to short-leg when on 13.
—ABC News, 16 May 2026
Streep, as ever, is viciously funny in the role.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 29 Apr. 2026
But instead of following the legal process, the city discharged the arrestees right into the waiting arms of a vigilante gang, who drove the Wobblies to the county line and viciously beat them with axe handles.
—Amelia Soth, JSTOR Daily, 15 Apr. 2026
The dictator’s successor, Ion Iliescu, viciously crushed pro-democracy demonstrations.
—Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2026
In other words, the fashion and interior design pendulum has viciously swung back about two decades.
—Sydney Lake, Fortune, 11 Apr. 2026
K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 29 May 2026
The marchers were viciously beaten by Alabama state troopers; Lewis suffered a skull fracture and was nearly killed.
—Jemele Hill, The Atlantic, 21 May 2026
Grainy video footage from those protests reveal the brutality of the Revolutionary Guard Corps, who drag students into the street, viciously beat them and then leave them wounded on the ground.
—Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 17 May 2026
Taskin then swung one viciously past Awais, a centurion in the first test, who pushed the delivery to short-leg when on 13.
—ABC News, 16 May 2026
Streep, as ever, is viciously funny in the role.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 29 Apr. 2026
But instead of following the legal process, the city discharged the arrestees right into the waiting arms of a vigilante gang, who drove the Wobblies to the county line and viciously beat them with axe handles.
—Amelia Soth, JSTOR Daily, 15 Apr. 2026
The dictator’s successor, Ion Iliescu, viciously crushed pro-democracy demonstrations.
—Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2026
In other words, the fashion and interior design pendulum has viciously swung back about two decades.
—Sydney Lake, Fortune, 11 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for viciously
Adverb
-
Joshua Booth, 51, was charged with one count of willfully or maliciously torture, maim or mutilate an animal kept for companionship or pleasure causing death, a category B felony under Nevada law, according to the Clark County District Attorney's Office.—
James Powel,
USA Today,
15 May 2026
-
Are there reliable technical solutions that could keep AI from being used maliciously?—
Ahmed Hamza,
The Conversation,
5 May 2026
Adverb
-
In other words, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you.—
Derek Robertson,
The Washington Examiner,
8 Aug. 2025
Adverb
-
After Adele and her mother had fought, bitterly, about her decision to keep the baby, and then more bitterly about her refusal to find Jamie in Florida and demand child support, Bromley invited her to live with him while things cooled down at home.—
Jonathan Franzen,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
-
During the Nullification Crisis of 1831–1833, partisan journalists had a major role in framing the issue and were bitterly opposed to one another, especially in South Carolina.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
26 May 2026
Adverb
-
Richard is so gifted, whip smart, and wickedly funny.—
Ellise Shafer,
Variety,
17 Apr. 2026
-
The resistance to public disclosure has been wickedly unrelenting, overcome only by an act of Congress last year.—
Kevin Rennie,
Hartford Courant,
7 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
We were warned by President and Supreme Allied Commander Dwight Eisenhower, along with United States Marine Major General Smedley Butler about the virulently toxic, corruptive and destabilizing influences exerted upon our government by the military industrial complex.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
14 May 2026
-
Runway is going virulently viral for all the wrong reasons, and its editor, the legendary Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), is, for once, at a loss for a withering mot juste when her advertisers demand an explanation.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
29 Apr. 2026
Adverb
-
Images of Labubus beamed malevolently from their packaging, as if gloating in their unreachability.—
Kyle Chayka,
New Yorker,
20 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Viciously.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/viciously. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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