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
One kind of viciously efficient profit motive was seeking the destruction of a somewhat different business mode.
—
Scott Eden, Rolling Stone, 1 Feb. 2026
For many, qualifying will represent the fruition of a lifelong, viciously competitive goal.
—NBC news, 20 Jan. 2026
Nickerson, 13, succumbed to his injuries two days after he was viciously attacked by two Cane Corsos and a Rottweiler, according to CBC, Global News and The Globe and Mail.
—Desiree Anello, PEOPLE, 11 Jan. 2026
The 89-minute running time doesn’t allow much exposition, and in fact the opening sequence shows a veterinarian coming to treat a sickly Ben before having his face viciously torn off.
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 8 Jan. 2026
Adusei said her brother barely had time to unwind and unpack from his overseas trip before he was viciously attacked.
—Nicholas Williams, New York Daily News, 7 Jan. 2026
Highways, viaducts, giant interchanges, and a major Metro junction viciously mutilated São Paulo’s downtown in the 1960s and ’70s, demoting it from a popular residential area to a commercial transfer hub, overcrowded and polluted by day but forlorn by night.
—Michaëla De Lacaze Mohrmann, Artforum, 1 Jan. 2026
Gil – my soulmate – lost his fight with a rare and viciously aggressive form of cancer.
—Lianne Kolirin, CNN Money, 17 Dec. 2025
Arab autocrats, Iran’s mullahs, and Putin cracked down viciously.
—Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
Scott Eden, Rolling Stone, 1 Feb. 2026
For many, qualifying will represent the fruition of a lifelong, viciously competitive goal.
—NBC news, 20 Jan. 2026
Nickerson, 13, succumbed to his injuries two days after he was viciously attacked by two Cane Corsos and a Rottweiler, according to CBC, Global News and The Globe and Mail.
—Desiree Anello, PEOPLE, 11 Jan. 2026
The 89-minute running time doesn’t allow much exposition, and in fact the opening sequence shows a veterinarian coming to treat a sickly Ben before having his face viciously torn off.
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 8 Jan. 2026
Adusei said her brother barely had time to unwind and unpack from his overseas trip before he was viciously attacked.
—Nicholas Williams, New York Daily News, 7 Jan. 2026
Highways, viaducts, giant interchanges, and a major Metro junction viciously mutilated São Paulo’s downtown in the 1960s and ’70s, demoting it from a popular residential area to a commercial transfer hub, overcrowded and polluted by day but forlorn by night.
—Michaëla De Lacaze Mohrmann, Artforum, 1 Jan. 2026
Gil – my soulmate – lost his fight with a rare and viciously aggressive form of cancer.
—Lianne Kolirin, CNN Money, 17 Dec. 2025
Arab autocrats, Iran’s mullahs, and Putin cracked down viciously.
—Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for viciously
Adverb
-
Patel’s complaint alleges he was maliciously prosecuted and deprived of due process.—
Shaddi Abusaid,
AJC.com,
9 Feb. 2026
-
The tragedy is how this movement spreads maliciously across the spectrum.—
Torrey Snow,
Baltimore Sun,
4 Feb. 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
-
In the capital, Kyiv, temperatures well below zero and bitterly cold winds are expected for the next four days at least.—
Tim Lister,
CNN Money,
8 Feb. 2026
-
The business relationship appears to have ended bitterly, based on the emails.—
John Diedrich,
jsonline.com,
6 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
And so wickedly smart to call it.—
Safiyah Riddle,
Fortune,
23 Jan. 2026
-
And so wickedly smart to call it.—
Safiyah Riddle,
Chicago Tribune,
22 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
Its rise is partly due to its strong, virulently nativist campaign against immigrants, calling for mass deportation.—
Trudy Rubin,
Mercury News,
20 Dec. 2025
-
This is a high watermark for the European far right, a once fringe movement whose virulently anti-immigration, anti-Islam and culture-war politics were shunned by the mainstream just a decade ago.—
Alexander Smith,
NBC news,
13 Aug. 2025
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 15 Feb. 2026.
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