vicious
adjective /ˈvɪʃəs/
  /ˈvɪʃəs/
- violent and cruel synonym brutal
- a vicious attack
 - a vicious criminal
 - She has a vicious temper.
 - Police described te robbery as particularly vicious.
 
Extra Examples- a particularly vicious and brutal crime
 - He was set upon by vicious thugs.
 - This was a particularly vicious assault.
 
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
 - look
 - sound
 - …
 
- extremely
 - fairly
 - very
 - …
 
 - (of animals) aggressive and dangerous
- a vicious dog
 
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
 - look
 - sound
 - …
 
- extremely
 - fairly
 - very
 - …
 
 - (of an attack, criticism, etc.) full of hate and anger
- She wrote me a vicious letter.
 - The newspapers launched a vicious attack on him, forcing him to resign.
 - The article was vicious in its criticism of the prime minister.
 
Extra Examples- I've done nothing to deserve all your vicious insinuations.
 - She wrote me a vicious letter after the incident.
 - The committee was particularly vicious in its criticism of the management.
 - They conducted a vicious campaign of misinformation and propaganda.
 - The play is a vicious attack on the nouveau riche.
 
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
 - look
 - sound
 - …
 
- extremely
 - fairly
 - very
 - …
 
 - (informal) very bad or severe
- a vicious headache
 - a vicious spiral of rising prices
 
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
 - look
 - sound
 - …
 
- extremely
 - fairly
 - very
 - …
 
 
Word OriginMiddle English (in the sense ‘characterized by immorality’): from Old French vicious or Latin vitiosus, from vitium ‘vice’.