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
The beating continued, viciously, as I was shoved to the floor behind the driver’s seat.
—
Shelly Kittleson, The Atlantic, 23 Apr. 2026
Most occur as the closing credits roll, whether pretending to be viciously mauled by a bear or, even more unnervingly, clearly superimposing his face onto the body of a performing cellist.
—Jon O'Brien, IndieWire, 22 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
She was being pursued viciously by the paparazzi, and here was somebody who was literally chased to death by the paparazzi.
—Jessica Radloff, Glamour, 20 Mar. 2026
The pieces are all in place for a viciously enjoyable midnight action romp, which the film most certainly is when the bloodshed first begins.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 18 Mar. 2026
Shelly Kittleson, The Atlantic, 23 Apr. 2026
Most occur as the closing credits roll, whether pretending to be viciously mauled by a bear or, even more unnervingly, clearly superimposing his face onto the body of a performing cellist.
—Jon O'Brien, IndieWire, 22 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
She was being pursued viciously by the paparazzi, and here was somebody who was literally chased to death by the paparazzi.
—Jessica Radloff, Glamour, 20 Mar. 2026
The pieces are all in place for a viciously enjoyable midnight action romp, which the film most certainly is when the bloodshed first begins.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 18 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for viciously
Adverb
-
Meanwhile, the average time between an attacker first gaining access to a system and acting maliciously fell to 29 minutes last year, a 65 percent acceleration from 2024.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
20 Apr. 2026
-
Our policy is—and has long been—that team members are only responsible for paying for personal protective equipment if the equipment is lost or maliciously damaged.—
Dillon Thomas,
CBS News,
15 Apr. 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
-
The trial has dragged on for six years in a case that has bitterly divided the Israeli public.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2026
-
The eight men at the center of this book shared the common experience of being born before the Civil War, when this country was bitterly divided over slavery.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
25 Apr. 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
-
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
-
In it, Theroux meets a family at the heart of the Westboro Baptist Church – a virulently homophobic group known for its hateful protests.—
Irenie Forshaw,
TheWeek,
25 Mar. 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 2 May. 2026.
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