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
as in nasty
not following or in accordance with standards of honor and decency
a vile trick to play on someone
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in ugly
unpleasant to look at
an outfit with a truly vile combination of colors
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Mikal, Tonya and Jason are vicious, screaming and hurling vile truths at one another.
—
Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 30 Mar. 2025
Who might just be covering their tracks while hiding a vile, bloody secret?
—David John Chávez, Mercury News, 27 Mar. 2025
Actions that might otherwise seem vile and impossible to live with to a Western mind - yes Ruski dark-ops will conceive and carry them out.
—Melik Kaylan, Forbes, 22 Mar. 2025
Snow White gets a much more meaningful backstory The original Disney film begins with a few short sentences about how Snow White was forced to work as a scullery maid for her vile stepmother, the Queen.
—Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 21 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for vile
Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 30 Mar. 2025
Who might just be covering their tracks while hiding a vile, bloody secret?
—David John Chávez, Mercury News, 27 Mar. 2025
Actions that might otherwise seem vile and impossible to live with to a Western mind - yes Ruski dark-ops will conceive and carry them out.
—Melik Kaylan, Forbes, 22 Mar. 2025
Snow White gets a much more meaningful backstory The original Disney film begins with a few short sentences about how Snow White was forced to work as a scullery maid for her vile stepmother, the Queen.
—Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 21 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
-
With a triple-digit heater and a nasty slider, he’s always been a tantalizing talent.—
Sahadev Sharma,
New York Times,
26 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
The Heat finished with an ugly 12-34 record against opponents that finished this regular season with a .500 record or better.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
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
-
In terms of effort and doing the dirty work to help his teammates, Hamilton shines for a defense.—
Joe Buscaglia,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
PreSonus has also added something called a soft start circuit that stops the speakers from making the hideous thumping sound that some speakers can produce when they are turned on or off.—
Mark Sparrow,
Forbes.com,
20 Apr. 2025
-
It must be emphasized that these companies are not just enabling hideous criminal activity, but directly profiting from it.—
Aaron Ping,
Denver Post,
15 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
Cite this Entry
“Vile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vile. Accessed 5 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share