wicked

1 of 2

adjective

wick·​ed ˈwi-kəd 

1

: morally very bad : evil

2

a

: fierce, vicious

a wicked dog

b

: disposed to or marked by mischief : roguish

does wicked impersonations

3

a

: disgustingly unpleasant : vile

a wicked odor

b

: causing or likely to cause harm, distress, or trouble

a wicked storm

4

: going beyond reasonable or predictable limits : of exceptional quality or degree

throws a wicked fastball

wickedly adverb

wicked

2 of 2

adverb

: very, extremely

wicked fast

Synonyms

Adjective

• bad
• dark
• evil
• immoral
• iniquitous
• nefarious
• rotten
• sinful
• unethical
• unlawful
• unrighteous
• unsavory
• vicious
• vile
• villainous
• wrong

Adverb

• achingly
• almighty
• archly
• awful
• awfully
• badly
• beastly
• blisteringly
• bone
• colossally
• corking
• cracking
• damn
• damned
• dang
• deadly
• desperately
• eminently
• enormously
• especially
• ever
• exceedingly
• exceeding
• extra
• extremely
• fabulously
• fantastically
• far
• fiercely
• filthy
• frightfully
• full
• greatly
• heavily
• highly
• hugely
• immensely
• incredibly
• intensely
• jolly
• majorly
• mightily
• mighty
• monstrous [chiefly dialect]
• mortally
• most
• much
• particularly
• passing
• rattling
• real
• really
• right
• roaring
• roaringly
• seriously
• severely
• so
• sore
• sorely
• spanking
• specially
• stinking
• such
• super
• supremely
• surpassingly
• terribly
• that
• thumping
• too
• unco
• uncommonly
• vastly
• very
• vitally
• way
• whacking
• wildly

Examples of wicked in a Sentence

Adjective

a wicked act of cruelty

She played the part of the wicked stepmother in the play.

She wore a wicked grin after her victory.

She's known for having a wicked sense of humor.

She had a wicked case of food poisoning.

A wicked odor was coming from the closet.

He throws a wicked fastball.

Adverb

His car goes wicked fast.

All his friends thought he was wicked cool.

The tickets were wicked expensive.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

In the years leading up to his voice work for the wicked prince hoping to woo Fiona, Everett worked as a writer, playwright and TV presenter. —Zoey Lyttle, People.com, 1 Mar. 2025

Hackman was great at playing bad guys, too: no one’s chuckle was more unnervingly, thrillingly wicked. —Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 27 Feb. 2025

Purveyor of brutal, bloody violence Timo Tjahjanto reminded us why Indonesia is an action-hub with a wicked end fight between Aurora Ribero and Hana Prinatina in Shadow Strays. —Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 27 Feb. 2025

From wicked to a saint: Cynthia Erivo is set to play Jesus Christ in the Hollywood Bowl's upcoming production of Jesus Christ Superstar. —Jessica Wang, EW.com, 19 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English, alteration of wicke wicked, perhaps from Old English wicca

First Known Use

Adjective

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adverb

1980, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

wicked

adjective

wick·​ed

ˈwik-əd

1

: morally bad : evil

2

: given to mischief : roguish

a wicked glance

3

a

: very unpleasant

a wicked odor

b

: causing or likely to cause harm or trouble

a wicked storm

wickedly adverb

wickedness noun