SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
virulent
adjective
Extremely harmful or intensely hostile.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Extremely harmful
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topVirulent emphasizes severity of harmful effect. In biological contexts, harmfulness is distinct from how readily something spreads; these alternatives do not specify transmission.
Intensely hostile
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topVirulent criticism or hostility is severe and injurious in tone. Caustic can involve cutting wit rather than sustained hatred.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See virulent in use
Virulent criticism overwhelmed the discussion of the design.
The virulent hostility in several responses made even an ordinary request for clarification sound like part of an attack.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license