as in malicious
having or showing a desire to cause someone pain or suffering for the sheer enjoyment of it
the virulent look on her face warned me that she was about to say something unkind
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Recent Examples of virulent
West, who has a history of virulent antisemitism, was dropped by his talent agent in February following one of his antisemitic rants.
—
Ilana Kaplan, PEOPLE, 19 Sep. 2025
Viruses can mutate to escape from antibodies, but the mRNA vaccines are not causing the emergence of more virulent strains, likely for at least two reasons.
—Deborah Fuller, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2025
Viruses can mutate to escape from antibodies, but the mRNA vaccines are not causing the emergence of more virulent strains, likely for at least two reasons.
—Deborah Fuller, The Conversation, 3 Sep. 2025
The researchers analyzed samples of coronary plaques–fatty buildups on artery walls–from heart patients and found that about 40% of them had virulent bacteria in them.
—Alex Knapp, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for virulent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for virulent
Adjective
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The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have strong antivirus software installed on all your devices.—
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And at the heart of the series was the parasitic dynamic between Pine and his delightfully malicious foe, an arms dealer named Richard Onslow Roper (Hugh Laurie).—
Adjective
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Officials charged Damon Leanord of Pleasanton, Kansas, with interference with law enforcement, having a vicious dog at large and criminal desecration of a body in Linn County and abandonment of a corpse charges in Bates County, Missouri, after finding the child’s body at the bottom of a creek bed.—
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He was shocked in 2013 when he was struck by vicious bouts of vomiting.—
Adjective
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The forest had taught him that city dwellers could often be regulated by cruel and rather unpredictable codes.—
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That Maduro is a cruel dictator is clear; that Trump intends more than just his arrest (such as taking their oil) is equally clear.—
Adjective
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Thompson, meanwhile, savors every contemptuous glare and hateful retort Anna regularly supplies.—
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At best, both Labour and the Conservatives have spent political capital on an activist who has repeatedly expressed thoughtless and hateful views in public.—
Adjective
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The growth of passive investing, through index funds found in the 401(k) accounts of average Americans, has propped up the stock market while also potentially setting it up for a nasty fall.—
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Instead of this stuff that's raised overseas that's done in ways that doesn't have any checks, that it's got polluted water, it's being fed really nasty stuff, full of antibiotics, full of chemicals.—
Cite this Entry
“Virulent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/virulent. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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