adverb

• 1In a cruel or violent manner.

  ‘a teenager was viciously attacked by a group of youths’

  More example sentences

  • ‘the animals tore viciously into their flesh’
  • ‘Sir Hugo is found dead on the moors, viciously murdered by a terrifying hound from hell.’
  • ‘In the ghostly tale, she is viciously beaten by invisible hands, dragged screaming across the bedroom floor, and suspended in midair.’
  • ‘We see evil in parents who viciously abuse their children.’
  • ‘A 200-pound pet chimpanzee viciously mauled a woman he had known for years.’
  • ‘The victim turned up as planned and was viciously punched in the face.’

  1. 1.1In an aggressive, angry way.
     ‘the boy swore viciously’
     More example sentences

     • ‘He worked only for political ends, viciously lampooning opponents of the left.’
     • ‘In a scene of recriminations and reproaches, they both viciously lash into each other.’
     • ‘To viciously pontificate about a celebrity's perceived character flaws and imagined motivations is pretty cheap.’
     • ‘He wrote a viciously disparaging blog post about the company's rejection of a dictionary app.’
     • ‘The locals become viciously riled when the man and his estranged sister initiate a quasi-physical relationship.’