English Explanatory Dictionary

wicked

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Evil or mischievous by nature; morally reprehensible.
  2. Harsh; severe.
  3. Excellent; awesome; masterful; exceptional.
adv
  1. To a superlative extent, very, extremely
noun
  1. Wicked (evil) people collectively.
verb
  1. simple past and past participle of wick
adj
  1. Having a wick.
adj
  1. Active; brisk.
  2. Infested with maggots.
  3. Alternative form of wick, as applying to inanimate objects only.

Pronunciation

wĭkʹĭd /ˈwɪk.ɪd/ en-us-wicked.ogg /ˈwək.əd/ wĭkt /wɪkt/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-wicked (wick).wav /wəkt/ /ˈwɪkɪd/

Word forms

wicked wickeder more wicked wickedest most wicked the wicked

Etymology

From Middle English wicked, wikked, an alteration of Middle English wicke, wikke (“morally perverse, evil, wicked”). Of uncertain origin. Possibly from an adjectival use of Old English wiċċa (“wizard, sorcerer”), from Proto-West Germanic *wikkō (“necromancer, sorcerer”), though the phonology makes this theory difficult to explain. Alternatively, perhaps related to English wicker, Old Norse víkja (“to bend to, yield, turn, move”), Swedish vika (“to bend, fold, give way to”), English weak. The "excellent, awesome" sense is an ameliorative semantic shift from the original sense of "evil, mischievous". Compare similar semantic development in terrific and sick.

Synonyms

evil immoral malevolent malicious nefarious twisted villainous abandoned arrant bad bad apple bad seed baleful scurrilous baneful base black-hearted dark deleterious demonic depraved despicable detrimental devilish diabolical evil-minded facinorous flagitious harmful heinous ill-intentioned ill-natured incorrigible iniquitous iniquous injurious knavish malefic maleficent malign malignant naughty niddering nidering niding nithing no-good peccaminous pernicious reprehensible reprobate satanic scathful sinful sinister sordid sullen ungodly unholy vicious

Derived words

have one's wicked way with no rest for the wicked no sleep for the wicked wickedly wickedness wicked pissah wicked problem wicked tongue multiwicked
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