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| Date: | 1300-1400 |
| Language: | Old French |
| Origin: | vicieux, from Latin vitiosus 'full of faults', from vitium; VICE |
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vi‧cious
1 violent and cruel in a way that hurts someone physically : 
a vicious murdera vicious killer Keep away from that dog, he can be vicious.
a vicious murdera vicious killerKeep away from that dog, he can be vicious.2 very unkind in a way that is intended to hurt someone's feelings or make their character seem bad [= malicious]: Sarah can be quite vicious at times. a vicious personal attack on the Duchess She was shocked by the vicious tone in his voice.
Sarah can be quite vicious at times.a vicious personal attack on the DuchessShe was shocked by the vicious tone in his voice.3 unpleasantly strong or severe [= violent]: a vicious gust of wind a vicious headache
a vicious gust of winda vicious headache —viciously adverb: He twisted her arm viciously.
He twisted her arm viciously. —viciousness noun [uncountable]
