Virulent

Extremely harmful or poisonous; (of a disease) highly infectious or malignant; (of behavior or rhetoric) bitterly hostile.

adjective

Virulent

Extremely harmful or poisonous; (of a disease) highly infectious or malignant; (of behavior or rhetoric) bitterly hostile.

adjective

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Imagine This

Virus is very deadly and poisonous. It can be transmitted even through lint.

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Sounds Like

VIR-yuh-lənt

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Looks Like

Viru (virus) lent

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Remember This

Virulence indicates how severe the harm from a pathogen can be; virulent agents are highly potent and dangerous.

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Other Forms

virulencenoun

virulentlyadverb

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Connect With

pathogenic, toxic, malignant, contagious, infection

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Note

Virulent describes the degree of harm; the noun form is virulence. Do not confuse with 'benign' or 'harmless'.

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Study Deeper

Examples

The virulent strain of the bacterium caused a rapid, severe outbreak.
Politicians accused their opponents of virulent rhetoric that inflamed tensions between groups.

Synonyms

poisonousdeadlylethaltoxicmalignant

Antonyms

benignharmlessmild

Etymology

From Latin virulentus 'poisonous, harmful' formed from virus 'poison' plus the suffix -ulentus meaning 'full of' or 'having the quality of'. The sense in English dates from the 15th century.

Mnemonic

VIRULENT: Vicious Infections Rapidly Unfold, Lethal, Extremely Nasty Toxins.

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Malefactor

noun

A person who commits a crime; an offender.

Raze

verb

To destroy completely; to demolish or level to the ground.

Petulant

adjective

Irritable or easily annoyed; displaying ill humor and a tendency to snap at others.

Similar Words

Related words and words with the same part of speech.

Toxic

adjective

Poisonous; capable of causing harm to living beings. It is also used figuratively to describe something harmful, destructive, or dangerous in a non-physical sense (for example, a toxic relationship).

Abstruse

adjective

Difficult to understand; obscure or highly complex.

Accidental

adjective

Happening by chance or without deliberate planning; not intended. In music, it is also a noun for a symbol that temporarily alters a pitch.

Acerbic

adjective

Sharp or biting in tone or taste; caustic or mordant in manner.

Acquiescent

adjective

Ready to agree or approve without protest; compliant.

Adamant

adjective

Rigid in opinion or purpose; not willing to change one's mind or position.