as in hatefully
in a mean or spiteful manner
the administrator viciously denied me the time off that I needed to attend my dear aunt's funeral
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Recent Examples of viciously
Grainy video footage from those protests reveal the brutality of the Revolutionary Guard Corps, who drag students into the street, viciously beat them and then leave them wounded on the ground.
—
Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 17 May 2026
Taskin then swung one viciously past Awais, a centurion in the first test, who pushed the delivery to short-leg when on 13.
—ABC News, 16 May 2026
Streep, as ever, is viciously funny in the role.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 29 Apr. 2026
The beating continued, viciously, as I was shoved to the floor behind the driver’s seat.
—Shelly Kittleson, The Atlantic, 23 Apr. 2026
But instead of following the legal process, the city discharged the arrestees right into the waiting arms of a vigilante gang, who drove the Wobblies to the county line and viciously beat them with axe handles.
—Amelia Soth, JSTOR Daily, 15 Apr. 2026
The dictator’s successor, Ion Iliescu, viciously crushed pro-democracy demonstrations.
—Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2026
In other words, the fashion and interior design pendulum has viciously swung back about two decades.
—Sydney Lake, Fortune, 11 Apr. 2026
Daisy is a young rebel, ready to fight viciously for the end of Gilead.
—Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2026
Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 17 May 2026
Taskin then swung one viciously past Awais, a centurion in the first test, who pushed the delivery to short-leg when on 13.
—ABC News, 16 May 2026
Streep, as ever, is viciously funny in the role.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 29 Apr. 2026
The beating continued, viciously, as I was shoved to the floor behind the driver’s seat.
—Shelly Kittleson, The Atlantic, 23 Apr. 2026
But instead of following the legal process, the city discharged the arrestees right into the waiting arms of a vigilante gang, who drove the Wobblies to the county line and viciously beat them with axe handles.
—Amelia Soth, JSTOR Daily, 15 Apr. 2026
The dictator’s successor, Ion Iliescu, viciously crushed pro-democracy demonstrations.
—Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2026
In other words, the fashion and interior design pendulum has viciously swung back about two decades.
—Sydney Lake, Fortune, 11 Apr. 2026
Daisy is a young rebel, ready to fight viciously for the end of Gilead.
—Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for viciously
Adverb
-
Joshua Booth, 51, was charged with one count of willfully or maliciously torture, maim or mutilate an animal kept for companionship or pleasure causing death, a category B felony under Nevada law, according to the Clark County District Attorney's Office.—
James Powel,
USA Today,
15 May 2026
-
Are there reliable technical solutions that could keep AI from being used maliciously?—
Ahmed Hamza,
The Conversation,
5 May 2026
Adverb
-
In other words, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you.—
Derek Robertson,
The Washington Examiner,
8 Aug. 2025
Adverb
-
On February 20, 1933, a bitterly cold winter day, President Hoover had laid the cornerstone of the new archives.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 May 2026
-
Players and owners fought bitterly about how many games should be played during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, settling on 60 games.—
Evan Drellich,
New York Times,
12 May 2026
Adverb
-
Richard is so gifted, whip smart, and wickedly funny.—
Ellise Shafer,
Variety,
17 Apr. 2026
-
The resistance to public disclosure has been wickedly unrelenting, overcome only by an act of Congress last year.—
Kevin Rennie,
Hartford Courant,
7 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
We were warned by President and Supreme Allied Commander Dwight Eisenhower, along with United States Marine Major General Smedley Butler about the virulently toxic, corruptive and destabilizing influences exerted upon our government by the military industrial complex.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
14 May 2026
-
Runway is going virulently viral for all the wrong reasons, and its editor, the legendary Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), is, for once, at a loss for a withering mot juste when her advertisers demand an explanation.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
29 Apr. 2026
Adverb
-
Images of Labubus beamed malevolently from their packaging, as if gloating in their unreachability.—
Kyle Chayka,
New Yorker,
20 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Viciously.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/viciously. Accessed 22 May. 2026.
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