Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Marked by, acting with, or resulting from great force: a violent attack.
- adj. Having or showing great emotional force: violent dislike.
- adj. Marked by intensity; extreme: violent pain; a violent squall. See Synonyms at intense.
- adj. Caused by unexpected force or injury rather than by natural causes: a violent death.
- adj. Tending to distort or injure meaning, phrasing, or intent.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Characterized by strong and sudden physical force; impetuous; furious.
- Produced, effected, or continued by force; accompanied by extraneous or unnatural force; unnatural.
- Acting or produced by unlawful, unjust, or improper force; characterized by force or violence unlawfully exercised; rough; outrageous; not authorized.
- Vehement mentally, or springing from such vehemence; fierce; passionate; furious.
- In general, intense in any respect; extreme: as, a violent contrast; especially, of pain, acute.
- Compelled; compulsory; not voluntary.
- Poignant, exquisite.
- n. One acting with violence.
- To urge with violence.
- To act or work with violence; be violent.
Wiktionary
- adj. Involving extreme force or motion.
- adj. Involving physical conflict.
- adj. Likely to use physical force.
- adj. Intensely vivid.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Moving or acting with physical strength; urged or impelled with force; excited by strong feeling or passion; forcible; vehement; impetuous; fierce; furious; severe.
- adj. Acting, characterized, or produced by unjust or improper force; outrageous; unauthorized.
- adj. Produced or effected by force; not spontaneous; unnatural; abnormal.
- n. obsolete An assailant.
- v. obsolete To urge with violence.
- v. obsolete To be violent; to act violently.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. acting with or marked by or resulting from great force or energy or emotional intensity
- adj. (of colors or sounds) intensely vivid or loud
- adj. marked by extreme intensity of emotions or convictions; inclined to react violently; fervid.
- adj. characterized by violence or bloodshed
- adj. effected by force or injury rather than natural causes
Etymologies
- From Old French violent, from Latin violentus, from vīs ("strength"). (Wiktionary)
- Middle English, from Old French, from Latin violentus, from vīs, vi-, force; see weiə- in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“I think the speaker used the term violent, did violence to what you're trying to accomplish in the House.”
“Beijing, wary of instability and the threat to the Communist Party's grip on power, often blames what it calls violent separatist groups in Xinjiang for attacks on police or other government targets.”
The Huffington Post: China sentences four to death for Xinjiang violence
“But opposition parties and human-rights groups complain the likely victory of the ruling party is tainted by what they call a violent crackdown on supporters and party members.”
The Wall Street Journal: EU Finds Fault With Ethiopia Ballot
“Significantly, he never used the word terrorism, but he hit hard on what he called violent extremism and its consequences.”
“Let's remember that what you call a violent past, that was at a time when thousands of people were being murdered by our government every month.”
“The FBI is now looking into what it calls a violent case of domestic terrorism.”
“Let's remember that what you call a violent past, that was at a time when thousands of people were being murdered by our government every month, and those of us who fought to end that war were actually on the right side.”
“There is ample fact -- and we also have plenty of evidence -- proving that this incident was organized, premeditated, masterminded and incited by the Dalai clique," Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said today, in denouncing the Dalai Lama's supporters as instigators of what he described as violent protests that rocked the region in recent days.”
“Mugabe has lashed out at Western support for what he called violent opposition activists and told his growing number of critics to "go hang.”
“A defiant and angry President Robert Mugabe on Thursday lashed out at Western support for what he called violent opposition activists and told his growing number of critics to "go hang.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘violent’.
-
Romanticism
Words to describe art of the Romantic Era
contorted, confusing, rebellious, puzzling, passion, bizarre, tortured, bruisy, emotion, brooding, dark, fantasy and 91 more...
-
Fauvism
Words to describe art of the fauvist movement
wild, beast, color, fauve, fauvism, fauvist, avant garde, floating, violent, outrageous, radical, dynamite and 82 more...
-
I am : oppressive
Words that are oppressive. Describing anger, violence, aggression (overt and covert), opposition, tension. strong stance and lack of harmony.
Still working on exact definition...angry, enraged, furious, mad, obstreperous, violent, aggressive, truculent, obdurate, obstinate, defiant, hostile and 33 more...
-
Words of Wear
Words describing worn out objects
worn, tattered, threads, ratty, dirty, old, smudgy, hand me down, stained, threadbare, decrepit, shoddy and 21 more...
-
Shadowkeir's list
This list, the one shown below this very message, is a collection of words that you cannot begin to fathom how much I adore. The list will also feature atithesis and contrasting words such as the t...
wishful, anticlimactic, forte, monchromatic, septic, wonderous, isoclinal, deformed, disintergrate, favourite, laughable, awe-inspiring and 250 more...
-
alopecia
i suppose, all of the words & phrases yoni wolf uses in alopecia, that i love.
ladies man, landmine, cavalier, consumer grade video, single's bingo, all-time gringo, calculated birth, manila envelope, mortaring, houdini, punchline, circus mirrors and 160 more...
-
SoSheShall's list
slurp, coeur, slurple, glop, perp, fluarxx, ropechno, herrherr, burrduhherrherr, sloppy, cheezie balls, eccentric and 634 more...
-
The Most Beautiful Words in the Engli...
mellifluous, obscure, star-crossed, undulating, solstice, messiah, audacious, solace, twilight, wanderlust, lovelorn, byzantine and 219 more...
-
Miss Sunshine
she's such a joy.
bereaved, bitter, cheerless, dejected, depressed, despairing, despondent, disconsolate, dismal, distressed, doleful, downcast and 405 more...
-
Apples to Apples: Green Cards
A complete list of the green cards (adjectives) from the popular word game.
absurd, addictive, adorable, aged, American, ancient, animated, annoying, appetizing, arrogant, awesome, awkward and 237 more...
-
Cage
cage, depart, nothing, void, strain, unconscious, never, alone, floor, God, hell, winter and 219 more...
-
Coruscatingly what?
List of adjectival terms, from aggressive to zippered, paired in printed materials with the adverb coruscatingly, identified by a simple query to Google Search (Books).
...propaedeutic...aggressive, angry, articulate, astringent, aware, beautiful, big, blinding, bright, brilliant, brutal, cerebral and 93 more...
-
Basic English Vocabulary
Very basic words for ESL students.
a, abandon, ability, able, abortion, about, above, abroad, absence, absolute, absolutely, absorb and 4334 more...
-
my dictionary
able, abnormally, abroad, absent, abstract, acceptable, acceptance, access, accessible, accession, according to, account and 4551 more...
-
The "dark" things
grave, dead, death, die, died, dies, murder, murdered, murderer, murders, murdering, murderous and 115 more...
-
✖ LOCUTIONS
✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖
lambda, coital, HUGO, fuggedaboutit, altrap, Hieroglyphics, Synergy, incarceration, Ethos, Devadasi, distraught, Patrician and 254 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for violent.
anydelirium 'These violent delights have violent ends
And in their triumph die, like fire and powder
Which, as they kiss, consume.'
-Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare Feb 20, 2008