Pernicious

/pəˈnɪʃəs/ · adjective

Meaning

Causing much harm in a subtle way..

Definitions by Sense

1. Causing much harm in a subtle way.
2. Causing death or injury; deadly.
3. (of a person) Insidiously villainous: intending to cause harm, especially in a subtle way.
4. (obsolete) swift; celeritous.

Example Sentences

pernicious influence

pernicious effects

They warned of the pernicious effects of misinformation.

The weed has a pernicious influence on local crops.

Ang. Belieue me on mine Honor, My words expreſſe my purpoſe. Iſa. Ha? Little honor, to be much beleeu'd, And moſt pernitious purpoſe: Seeming, ſeeming. I will proclaime thee Angelo, looke for't.

[…]her health also having suffered by the change, she immediately, when told of Douglas's projected departure from India, felt the strongest desire to accompany him; and to which Colonel Melbourne the more readily consented, having with reluctance yielded to her request of quitting England, willing as he had been to sacrifice the enjoyment of her society rather than that she should submit to the disadvantages attendant upon a residence in a clime usually found so pernicious to the female constitution.

Puritanism no longer employs the thumbscrew and lash; but it still has a most pernicious hold on the minds and feelings of the American people.

In January, the company laid off a third of its staff and renounced ads as a pernicious influence on the world, without mentioning that Google and Facebook are so good at ads there’s hardly room for anyone else to compete.

Synonyms for pernicious

Antonyms for pernicious

Related Words

Word Forms

• more pernicious
• most pernicious

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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