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
The Modi government’s virulent Hindu nationalist agenda, which enables violence against religious minorities, cost the Prime Minister in the recent election.
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Rasheed Ahmed, TIME, 18 Sep. 2024
When a clinic in Egypt failed to help his worsening symptoms, Patterson was flown to Germany, where doctors discovered a grapefruit-size abdominal abscess filled with Acinetobacter baumannii, a virulent bacterium resistant to nearly all antibiotics.
—Jacqueline Howard, CNN, 16 Sep. 2024
So far, Australia remains the only continent to have avoided the highly virulent H5N1 strain of avian flu.
—Alexa Robles-Gil, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Sep. 2024
His virulent anti-Semitism and Adolf Hitler’s obsessive love for his operas have led many to treat him simply as a bombastic proto-Nazi—a view that Ross, a music critic at The New Yorker, challenges.
—Alex Ross, Foreign Affairs, 16 Feb. 2021
See all Example Sentences for virulent 
Rasheed Ahmed, TIME, 18 Sep. 2024
When a clinic in Egypt failed to help his worsening symptoms, Patterson was flown to Germany, where doctors discovered a grapefruit-size abdominal abscess filled with Acinetobacter baumannii, a virulent bacterium resistant to nearly all antibiotics.
—Jacqueline Howard, CNN, 16 Sep. 2024
So far, Australia remains the only continent to have avoided the highly virulent H5N1 strain of avian flu.
—Alexa Robles-Gil, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Sep. 2024
His virulent anti-Semitism and Adolf Hitler’s obsessive love for his operas have led many to treat him simply as a bombastic proto-Nazi—a view that Ross, a music critic at The New Yorker, challenges.
—Alex Ross, Foreign Affairs, 16 Feb. 2021
See all Example Sentences for virulent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for virulent
Adjective
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Apple has since revoked the notarization for the malicious program.Michael Kan, PCMAG, 7 Nov. 2024
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Between the lines: Many cybersecurity tools scan endpoints for signs of malicious intruders trying to get in.Sam Sabin, Axios, 29 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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That forces him to descend the 8,000-foot-and-higher safety zone of the Rocky Mountains, and into the lower-elevation danger zone where vicious monsters roam free.John Wenzel, The Denver Post, 14 Nov. 2024
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Scott, the old pro, knows how to give these scenes a vicious vitality that overcomes any thoughts about how the Romans supposedly got live sharks in the water.Alison Willmore, Vulture, 11 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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This soaring exploration of generational trauma starts with Star, a survivor of the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre, who’s forced to speak English and practice Christianity by the man who goes on to found the notoriously cruel Carlisle Indian Industrial School.Lizz Schumer, People.com, 5 Nov. 2024
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Calcutta and appeared as Tony Moss, the cruel, toupeed director of the topless dance revue at the Stardust Casino, in Paul Verhoeven’s Showgirls (1995).Mike Barnes, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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The worthwhile parts of Twitter (real-time news, sports, culture, silly memes, spontaneous encounters with celebrity accounts) have been drowned out by hateful garbage.Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 5 Nov. 2024
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The hateful rhetoric has been deployed all the way down the ballot, in Senate races, statehouse contests, and state constitutional amendment campaigns.Madison Pauly and Sarah Szilagy, Them, 5 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Good post for a mid- to late-November afternoon: 70 to 100 yards back in timber and along the thickest, nastiest ditch that leads out to crops. 59) Don’t waste precious rut-hunting time.Michael Hanback, Outdoor Life, 7 Nov. 2024
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Reason for Ranking: Yet another solid (and prescient) premise that’s spoiled by a nasty streak and curious jokes about, uh, Abraham Lincoln hitting on Homer.Joshua Kurp, Vulture, 4 Nov. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near virulent
Cite this Entry
“Virulent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/virulent. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
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