as in malicious
having or showing a desire to cause someone pain or suffering for the sheer enjoyment of it
the virulent look on her face warned me that she was about to say something unkind
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Recent Examples of virulent
Just then, however, a virulent backlash against generative A.I. swept through Hollywood.
—
Brooks Barnes, New York Times, 21 May 2025
The virulent Delta variant, for example, appeared in the spring of 2021 and was overtaken by the Omicron variant, which also caused severe disease, that November.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 8 May 2025
After being the target of virulent antisemitism as a child and while grappling with drug addiction as a young man, Isaacs stumbled into acting — and quickly made a name for himself.
—Scott Feinberg, HollywoodReporter, 21 Apr. 2025
His virulent material once led to a ban on almost every social media platform.
—Sana Noor Haq, CNN Money, 10 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for virulent
Brooks Barnes, New York Times, 21 May 2025
The virulent Delta variant, for example, appeared in the spring of 2021 and was overtaken by the Omicron variant, which also caused severe disease, that November.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 8 May 2025
After being the target of virulent antisemitism as a child and while grappling with drug addiction as a young man, Isaacs stumbled into acting — and quickly made a name for himself.
—Scott Feinberg, HollywoodReporter, 21 Apr. 2025
His virulent material once led to a ban on almost every social media platform.
—Sana Noor Haq, CNN Money, 10 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for virulent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for virulent
Adjective
-
This is the threat potential given commonalities despite seemingly different developers, and those links to malicious domains.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
4 June 2025
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Mandiant found ads for over 30 such malicious websites; most were posted on Facebook but a handful of them appeared on LinkedIn.—
Jibin Joseph,
PC Magazine,
3 June 2025
Adjective
-
There are other objects of worship from the days when Japan’s Christians had to hide from vicious persecution, including a ceramic bottle of holy water from Nakaenoshima, an island where Hidden Christians were martyred in the 1620s.—
Foster Klug,
Los Angeles Times,
4 June 2025
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Years before the Kendrick Lamar and Drake imbroglio, Pusha T shared his own vicious diss track against the Canadian hip-hop superstar.—
Matthew Strauss,
Pitchfork,
3 June 2025
Adjective
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This is cruel, unnecessary, and will further fan the flames of economic chaos for working families across this country.—
Adam S. Minsky,
Forbes.com,
3 June 2025
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And for every San Antonio, there is a Utah or Washington or Charlotte that can’t believe how cruel the lottery can be.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
3 June 2025
Adjective
-
Black said the synagogue has received hateful emails and phone calls.—
Rosario Del Valle,
Sun Sentinel,
3 June 2025
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Day was facing an immense amount of hateful comments and calls for him to be fired.—
Evan Massey,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 May 2025
Adjective
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Well, as referenced above, the United States was coming out of a nasty recession tied to the crisis in the mortgage market.—
Ken Roberts,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2025
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But many of those story beats feel perfunctory; the film comes to life in the nastier, grislier set pieces.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
30 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Virulent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/virulent. Accessed 15 Jun. 2025.
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