as in harmful
causing or capable of causing harm
the pernicious effects of illegal narcotics on society
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Recent Examples of pernicious
On the surface, dietary advice to eat more vegetables hardly seems pernicious.
—
Rachel Hope Cleves / Made By History, TIME, 14 Feb. 2025
Eggs have become vivid symbols of Americans’ frustration over the pernicious inflation of recent years.
—Laura Washington, Chicago Tribune, 12 Feb. 2025
One example was that the law capped the pernicious state and local tax deduction at $10,000.
—The Editors, National Review, 10 Feb. 2025
The pernicious effects of bias also play out in the workplace—with negative consequences for individuals and organizations.
—Iris Bohnet, Big Think, 28 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pernicious
Rachel Hope Cleves / Made By History, TIME, 14 Feb. 2025
Eggs have become vivid symbols of Americans’ frustration over the pernicious inflation of recent years.
—Laura Washington, Chicago Tribune, 12 Feb. 2025
One example was that the law capped the pernicious state and local tax deduction at $10,000.
—The Editors, National Review, 10 Feb. 2025
The pernicious effects of bias also play out in the workplace—with negative consequences for individuals and organizations.
—Iris Bohnet, Big Think, 28 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pernicious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pernicious
Adjective
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That might help researchers discover which technology helps what kinds of people best and which makes no impact or is harmful to brain health.—
Nicole Villalpando,
Austin American Statesman,
30 July 2025
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McNair said any delay in response from school officials and emergency responders are especially harmful.—
Edward Lee,
Baltimore Sun,
29 July 2025
Adjective
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Here's what each means, according to the NWS: Heat advisory: A heat advisory is the lowest level and is issued for dangerous heat conditions that are not expected to reach the criteria for a more serious alert.—
Chad Murphy,
The Enquirer,
24 July 2025
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More dangerous heat waves The Great Lakes region warmed substantially faster in the six years since the last assessment than it did in decades prior, the report shows.—
Caitlin Looby,
jsonline.com,
24 July 2025
Adjective
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The platform was recently accused by several state attorneys general of implementing addictive features across its family of apps that have detrimental effects on children’s mental health.—
Zach Vallese,
CNBC,
23 July 2025
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Water is a systemic need for plants of all types; however, too much water, whether supplied by rain or irrigation, is detrimental.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
20 July 2025
Adjective
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Expose how these programs and their curriculum are damaging and not aligned with state workforce demands.—
Lily Kepner,
Austin American Statesman,
30 July 2025
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Despite the initial euphoria on European stock markets, strategists at UBS suggest the deal is likely to be damaging in the long run.—
Ganesh Rao,
CNBC,
28 July 2025
Adjective
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The team identified three distinct behavioral phenotypes as a result of their experiments, representing the varying sensitivity of people to the adverse consequences (punishment) of their actions.—
Jennifer Ouellette,
ArsTechnica,
24 July 2025
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Without such data, the systems can serve adverse, false results or fail to understand the context of a user’s query, among other issues.—
Meghan Hall,
Sourcing Journal,
22 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pernicious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pernicious. Accessed 7 Aug. 2025.
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