VIPERISH Synonyms: 68 Similar and Opposite Words

viperish

adjective

Definition of viperish

as in malignant

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

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 viperish For instance, Queen Elizabeth (Heather Alicia Simms) and ex-queen Margaret (a scene-stealing Sharon Washington) are tart and viperish with each other, wonderful at torquing Shakespeare’s iambs to sound utterly contemporary. — Helen Shaw, Vulture, 11 July 2022 The progress of their romance is complicated by her pregnancy, a shotgun marriage and life under the eye of Ingrid’s snobbish, viperish mother (Thora Hird). — Stephen Holden, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2017

Recent Examples of Synonyms for viperish

Adjective

His presence in government should be eradicated like a malignant tumor.

— Emily Feng, NPR, 6 Nov. 2026
In contrast to many high-income settings, children with malignant diseases such as leukemias and solid tumors represent a relatively small proportion – about 4% – of patients who would benefit from a palliative care approach.

— Emilee Flynn, The Conversation, 3 Nov. 2026

Definition of malignant

Adjective

Violent mobs carrying Palestinian flags clashed with police, looted hundreds of stores, and flooded social media with over 1,300 hateful anti-Semitic posts.

— Staff, FOXNews.com, 22 Oct. 2026
The Illinois High School Association is responding as an investigation continues into hateful comments against Evanston Township High School students who were part of marching band during a football game at the new Ryan Field last week.

— Adam Harrington, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of hateful

Adjective

Authorities have described the more than two dozen threats as malicious hoaxes, and no actual attacks have been carried out.

— Jenni Reid, CNBC, 7 Nov. 2026
Iran has been linked to at least one incident in Israel earlier in the spring, though that breach involved a lot more sophistication and malicious activity.

— Jenna McLaughlin, NPR, 6 Nov. 2026

Definition of malicious

Adjective

But seemingly out of nowhere, something incited the emergence of a more virulent Sporothrix species spread by cats and not plants.

— Dominique Mosbergen, Time, 27 Oct. 2026
The incubation period for pneumonic plague — the disease's most virulent form — can be as short as 24 hours, according to the WHO.

— ABC News, ABC News, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of virulent

Adjective

For the moment, Trump’s vicious bigotry has alienated most independent voters and even some Republicans.

— David Yassky, New York Daily News, 2 Nov. 2026
Outside observers described his vicious consolidation of power as an attempt to compensate for his youth, his limited political experience, and his complete lack of a military background.

— Jieun Baek, Foreign Affairs, 30 Oct. 2026

Definition of vicious

Adjective

That genre run includes one of her most recognizable roles, a maternally malevolent antagonist in David Cronenberg’s The Brood (1979).

— Kelly Martinez, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Oct. 2026
Most are somewhere between the size of a golf ball and a fist, and their only real feature is a malevolent-looking mouth armed with five overlapping teeth for grinding and shearing kelp.

— Joseph Ogilvy, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Oct. 2026

Definition of malevolent

Adjective

It would be seen as a work of merciless autofiction in the vein of Karl Ove Knausgaard, and it would be discussed, as his books are, as aggressive, antisocial, and spiteful.

— B. D. McClay, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
In 1932, Carlos (Milo Quifes) is a young man in Grenada at a time when Spain is lurching uncomfortably towards an ever-increasing spiteful intolerance of homosexuality.

— Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of spiteful

Browse Nearby Words

viper

viperish

vipers

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Viperish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/viperish. Accessed 10 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of viperish

adjective

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

defer

Popular in Grammar & Usage

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Old-Timey Vehicles

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes