| 释义 |
viciousvicious /ˈvɪʃəs/ ●●○ adjective ETYMOLOGYviciousOrigin: 1300-1400 Old French vicieux, from Latin vitiosus full of faults ► a vicious attack/campaign/rumor etc. a vicious attack on his opponent THESAURUSdeliberately upsetting or hurting people or animals► crueldeliberately upsetting or hurting people or animals: Killing animals just for their skins seems cruel. He was the victim of a cruel joke. ► vicious very cruel and violent, and intended to hurt someone: The old man was beaten and kicked in a vicious attack. ► brutal very cruel and violent, in a way that shows no human feelings: The police are investigating a series of brutal murders. ► abusive formal saying cruel things or using physical violence: She finally left her abusive alcoholic husband. ► heartless very unkind and not caring at all about other people’s feelings: It was heartless to deny the children medical treatment. ► inhumane formal very cruel and causing more suffering than is acceptable: Stalin was one of the most inhumane dictators in history. ► ruthless so determined to get what you want that you do not care if you have to hurt other people in order to do it: These men are ruthless terrorists and will kill anyone who tries to stop them. not nice► mean not nice and making someone feel upset: There’s no reason to be mean. That was a mean trick. ► unkind unkind means the same thing as mean but it sounds more formal: It was unkind to tell her that she looked fat. ► cruel very mean and deliberately making someone suffer or feel unhappy: Girls can be very cruel to each other. ► thoughtless not thinking about the needs and feelings of other people: It’s your sister’s birthday, and you didn’t even call her? How can you be so thoughtless! ► nasty mean, often deliberately and for no reason: Their neighbors were really nasty. ► hurtful mean, and said or done especially because you feel something is unfair, you are jealous, etc.: He said some hurtful things that he later regretted. ► spiteful mean, and done or said deliberately because you are angry or jealous: Jen’s remark upset Chris, so he said some spiteful things to her. ► abusive using cruel words or physical violence: Hannah had an abusive father. ► vicious extremely cruel and deliberately trying to upset someone: There is a vicious rumor going around that she is pregnant, but she’s not. ► malicious formal showing a desire to harm, upset, or cause problems for someone. Used especially about things people say or write: The girls started spreading malicious gossip as a way of getting back at her. ► vindictive mean and unfair especially because you want to harm someone who has harmed you: She became bitter and vindictive after her husband left her, and she refused to let him see the children. actions► violent involving actions that are intended to injure or kill people, by hitting them, shooting them, etc.: There has been a rise in violent crime in the city in the past year. The military was behind the violent overthrow of the government. ► rough involving force or violence but not causing serious injury: Several protesters complained of rough treatment by the police. ► vicious extremely violent and cruel, and intended to hurt someone: The vicious attack left her with a broken arm and several cracked ribs. ► savage extremely violent, as if done by a wild animal: The man nearly died in the savage attack. ► brutal very violent and cruel, in a way that shows no human feelings for other people: The police are investigating a series of brutal murders. ► fierce done with a lot of energy and often violent: The soldiers clashed in a fierce battle. ► ferocious violent, dangerous, and frightening: Many civilians were killed in the ferocious bloody fighting. 1violent and dangerous, and likely to hurt someone: vicious dogs It was a particularly vicious attack.► see thesaurus at cruel, mean2, violent2cruelly and deliberately trying to hurt someone’s feelings or make someone seem bad: John gets pretty vicious when he’s drunk.a vicious attack/campaign/rumor etc. a vicious attack on his opponent3very strong or severe: a vicious headache [Origin: 1300–1400 Old French vicieux, from Latin vitiosus full of faults]—viciously adverb: The dog growled viciously.—viciousness noun [uncountable] |