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violent

adjective

ˈvī-ə-lənt How to pronounce violent (audio)
Definition of violentnext
1
as in ferocious
marked by bursts of destructive force or intense activity a violent explosion that left several buildings seriously damaged

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in intense
extreme in degree, power, or effect a violent thunderstorm

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3
as in frantic
marked by great and often stressful excitement or activity our guest's imminent arrival provoked a violent effort to get the place cleaned up

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4
as in aggressive
marked by or uttered with forcefulness prone to violent denunciation of anyone who disagrees with her violent brushstrokes that were a trademark of the abstract artist

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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 violent Step aboard the Grampus, a whaleship gone adrift after a storm, rations running out and a violent mutiny, and learn what happened to its ghost whalers. — Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 16 Sep. 2026 The violent crash ejected one passenger from the bus and partially ejected a second person, according to police. — Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026 This musical era came to a violent end under the Khmer Rouge regime of the 1970s, which shuttered entertainment venues and killed nine in ten of the country’s professional musicians. — H.m.a. Leow, JSTOR Daily, 15 Sep. 2026 Too edgy, too heavy, too real, too violent, too loud, too sexy? — Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 15 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for violent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for violent
  1. ferocious
  2. intense
  3. frantic
  4. aggressive
  5. turbulent
  6. intensive
  7. furious
  8. vigorous
Adjective
  • The relationship between Xi and Zhang went back decades, extending not just to their childhoods but all the way back to their fathers, who were comrades in arms in China’s ferocious civil war.
    — Jonathan A. Czin, The Atlantic, 14 Sep. 2026
  • The ferocious drummer Martin Chambers, with his knifey sideburns, completed the quartet.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of ferocious
Adjective
  • Ukrainian officials are expecting another winter of intense Russian strikes on energy infrastructure, a tactic Moscow has employed each winter of the full-scale invasion in a bid to freeze the country into submission.
    — David Brennan, ABC News, 15 Sep. 2026
  • In his research for both projects, his mood boards filled up with references to periods of intense cultural flowering cut short—Weimar Germany, 1970s Iran, Cuba in the ’50s, and New York City before the AIDS crisis.
    — Sean Santiago, Architectural Digest, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of intense
Adjective
  • Fulham’s current rest-defence shape leads to frantic back-tracking defending, while the opposition can pull the centre-back partnership across the pitch with passes in behind and switches into the channels.
    — Thom Harris, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Booth was in Toronto with his wife to attend an international convention for the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) when delegates from New York suddenly received frantic calls and left the meeting.
    — Kaanita Iyer, CNN Money, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of frantic
Adjective
  • On one hand, the aggressive expansion of data centers is intensifying competition for finite resources like land and water, putting them in direct conflict with agricultural land use in certain regions.
    — , CNBC, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Harsh cleaners and aggressive scrubbing can damage these surfaces.
    — Jessica Safavimehr, Southern Living, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of aggressive
Adjective
  • The oversight hearing underscored Patel’s turbulent tenure, from shouting matches with lawmakers and blended leisure travel to allegations of excessive drinking that spurred calls for his removal and a massive defamation suit.
    — Eric Tucker, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026
  • The two lawsuits come after a turbulent week for Hoskins, a Republican who became a key player in a dizzying series of legal battles and court decisions over the state’s congressional map.
    — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of turbulent
Adjective
  • The second cohort members are all to become part of the intensive acceleration phase that’s steered by the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership innovation team, with a concentration on pilot readiness.
    — Jennifer Weil, Footwear News, 17 Sep. 2026
  • The inaugural Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival Filmmaker Retreat, a four-day intensive program for filmmakers based in the Mid-South/South, held in partnership with Indie Media Arts South, launching October 10 – 13.
    — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of intensive
Adjective
  • The Lindsay Clancy trial has captivated the nation, spurring furious online debate on the state of maternal healthcare and whether she should be held criminally responsible for killing her three children.
    — Yasmin Vossoughian, NBC news, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Simply put, the SEC is furious that LSU has challenged the conference’s attempts to enforce its eligibility rules for athletes returning from professional sports.
    — Trey Wallace OutKick, FOXNews.com, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of furious
Adjective
  • The film is at its most vigorous here, when its possibilities lie ahead.
    — Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 13 Sep. 2026
  • Water Sprouts These vigorous upright shoots often develop in response to stress or over-pruning.
    — Nadia Hassani, The Spruce, 12 Sep. 2026
Definition of vigorous

Browse Nearby Words

violence
violent
violently
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Cite this Entry

“Violent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/violent. Accessed 18 Sep. 2026.

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