as in severity
biting sharpness of feeling or expression
the virulency of his critical judgments became the stuff of Broadway legend
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Recent Examples of virulency
The virulency of Covid-19 trained even those of us who shop locally out of principal to purchase online.
—
Marc Peruzzi, Outside Online, 2 Mar. 2021
Marc Peruzzi, Outside Online, 2 Mar. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for virulency
Noun
-
After the flight crew allegedly requested an onboard doctor, a physician-passenger advised that due to the severity of the burns and their proximity to her genitals, AC should be transported to an urgent care facility as soon as possible, the complaint says.—
Colson Thayer,
PEOPLE,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Authorities say the fire caused losses far exceeding $10 million, a key threshold that elevates the severity of the charge, while federal officials estimate total damage at roughly $500 million.—
Stepheny Price,
FOXNews.com,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Acidic liquids can tame that bitterness.—
The New York Times News Service Syndicate,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
15 Apr. 2026
-
After bitterness, a little sweetness is in order.—
Michelle Huneven,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Lebanese officials have pushed for a ceasefire, while Israel has framed the negotiations around Hezbollah’s disarmament and a potential peace deal, without publicly committing to halting hostilities or withdrawing its forces.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
14 Apr. 2026
-
Thanks to the religious hostilities that burst open in the late sixteenth century, the prevailing hue is blood.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
To predict how an outbreak will progress, epidemiologists often use stock-and-flow diagrams: illustrations featuring stocks of people (susceptible, infected, recovered, dead) and arrows showing flows between them based on factors such as exposure or virulence.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
4 Mar. 2026
-
Genes involved in adaptation, such as those linked to virulence, metabolism or host interaction, also move with them.—
Lily Peck,
The Conversation,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Python bile, which is contained in the gallbladder, is believed to have medicinal properties, while the tongue is used in traditional rituals or as an aphrodisiac.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Mclusky were always rooted more in bile than hormones, contempt and wit over quick-burn idealism.—
Alex Robert Ross,
Pitchfork,
25 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
But Lloyd’s version brims with mordancy.—
Sarah Weinman,
New York Times,
10 Feb. 2023
-
The gray-tint, cross-hatched drawings evoke George Cruikshank and Samuel Palmer, but the mordancy is vintage Sendak.—
The Week Staff,
The Week,
17 Oct. 2022
Noun
-
Coel bites into the acerbic bitterness of that history in their early exchanges, with a vein of malice in questions supposedly intended to reveal who Mary has become and hence what kind of dress will feel true to her.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Apr. 2026
-
Trump’s suit failed to establish actual malice, the judge ruled.—
Todd Spangler,
Variety,
13 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
When John begins spitting out his food, his mother, Heather (Shirley Henderson), worn down by exhaustion and anger, banishes him from the dinner table—the first in an unceasing series of maternal rejections.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
17 Apr. 2026
-
And after confusion came anger.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
17 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Virulency.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/virulency. Accessed 19 Apr. 2026.
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