VIRULENT Synonyms: 88 Similar and Opposite Words

virulent

adjective

ˈvir-ə-lənt

Definition of virulent

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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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 virulent The feminist progress of the past half century has been met with a virulent backlash of misogyny. — Faith Hill, The Atlantic, 3 Aug. 2026 Further tests showed that the thick sticky coating made these bacteria more virulent than the normal-looking bacteria from the first urine sample. — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 23 July 2026 Legionella, the bacteria that causes the virulent form of pneumonia known as Legionnaires’ disease, has been detected in a cooling tower at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on New York’s Upper East Side. — News Desk, Artforum, 15 July 2026 Deaths from influenza rose slightly, partly due to an unusually virulent strain circulating last year, although falling vaccination rates may also have contributed, The Wall Street Journal reported. — Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 2 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for virulent

Recent Examples of Synonyms for virulent

Adjective

Moreover, the perpetrators do not appear to have used malicious code on the fridge controllers, potentially complicating efforts to track down who carried out the cyberattack, added Aimé.

— Sana Noor Haq, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2026
The best way to protect yourself from malicious links that install malware and potentially access your private information is to have antivirus software installed on all your devices.

— Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of malicious

Adjective

So too, the possibility of Rollerball-style carnage carnivals where robots compete in vicious cage matches until only one android is still moving.

— Rick Burton, Sportico.com, 19 Oct. 2026
Cash reserves totaling $ 7,450,869 are being used to eviscerate his opponent with a vicious barrage of ad hominem assaults, thus giving him a 61 to 1 spending edge.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of vicious

Adjective

In response to legislation to end the cruelty once and for all, the Daily News once again trotted out its old and tired defense of this cruel, deadly and outdated industry.

— Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 18 Oct. 2026
Policing cringe is the cruelest métier of the internet—the origin of harassment campaigns and platforming of contempt.

— Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of cruel

Adjective

Ossoff went a step further, accusing Collins himself of amplifying hateful content and saying that his former congressional aide had intervened on behalf of a Holocaust denier.

— AJC.com, AJC.com, 9 Oct. 2026
Online trolls posting hateful comments on social media don't establish how the crowd at Gainbridge behaves.

— Dan Zaksheske OutKick, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of hateful

Adjective

The polls still show a close-range contest, but in the increasingly nasty ad war, the spending suggests a far more lopsided fight.

— Philip Elliott, Time, 19 Oct. 2026
Officers then cuffed the youngster as he was loaded into an ambulance and hospitalized for a fractured femur and a nasty bruise on his head, according to the lawsuit, which was filed by the teen’s dad, Mahmoud Saleh, in Brooklyn Federal Court.

— John Annese, New York Daily News, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of nasty

Browse Nearby Words

virulency

virulent

virulently

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“Virulent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/virulent. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of virulent

adjective

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