as in harmful
causing or capable of causing harm
the pernicious effects of illegal narcotics on society
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of pernicious
Unlike the branching corals, which were victims of water that at one point reached hot tub temperatures, pillar coral’s killer was mostly a pernicious and little understood coral disease, story coral tissue loss disease, although extreme heat did claim some.
—
Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 24 Oct. 2025
Worse, many engaged in a particularly rash form of gaming, making high-speed wagers on in-game action — a pernicious new product called microbetting.
—Paul Solotaroff, Rolling Stone, 12 Oct. 2025
But such ads have been shown to support pernicious behaviors and beliefs around food, exercise and body image.
—Mallary Tenore Tarpley, USA Today, 22 Sep. 2025
Perhaps the most pernicious aspect of calls for affirming art is their reduction of art to subject matter.
—Garth Greenwell, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pernicious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pernicious
Adjective
-
Some harmful varieties closely resemble edible mushrooms, even to experienced foragers.—
-
On each phone, the lock screen image was a photo of a child who died young due to the harmful effects of social media.—
Adjective
-
Pipes and sewers can be very dangerous for pets and wildlife and Roto-Rooter, with specialized equipment and personnel, has become a go-to call to save cats, dogs, turtles and more.—
-
Ole Miss has enough dangerous weapons in quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, running back Kewan Lacy and wide receivers Harrison Wallace III, De’Zhaun Stribling and Deuce Alexander to make a tired defense pay.—
Adjective
-
Rat poison, in Saban-speak, is what is detrimental to teams that start believing their hype and losing focus on the controllables like working as hard as possible every day.—
-
So did the first-round bye really prove to be that detrimental?—
Adjective
-
Davis’ injury is the latest — and potentially most damaging — blow in a Mavericks season defined by attrition.—
-
After a damaging winter storm of rain, wind, and flooding, staff at Mountain High Resorts in Wrightwood have been working around the clock to prepare for reopening day on Saturday.—
Adjective
-
Public systems can be somewhat risk adverse.—
-
Nekrasov said adverse weather conditions also left parts of several other regions without power, including Chernihiv, Kyiv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Zakarpattia.—
Cite this Entry
“Pernicious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pernicious. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share