Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Extremely infectious, malignant, or poisonous. Used of a disease or toxin.
- adj. Capable of causing disease by breaking down protective mechanisms of the host. Used of a pathogen.
- adj. Bitterly hostile or antagonistic; hateful: virulent criticism. See Synonyms at poisonous.
- adj. Intensely irritating, obnoxious, or harsh.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Full of virus; extremely poisonous or venomous.
- Due to the action of a virus: as, a virulent inoculation.
- Very bitter or spiteful; malignant: as, a virulent invective; a virulent libel.
Wiktionary
- adj. Of a disease or disease-causing agent, highly infectious, malignant, or deadly.
- adj. Hostile to the point of being venomous; intensely acrimonious.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Extremely poisonous or venomous; very active in doing injury.
- adj. Very bitter in enmity; actuated by a desire to injure; malignant.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. harsh or corrosive in tone
- adj. extremely poisonous or injurious; producing venom
- adj. infectious; having the ability to cause disease
Etymologies
- Middle English, from Latin vīrulentus, from vīrus, poison.
Examples
“The term virulent, you see, is used to mean something virus-like, especially in the manner and speed it spreads itself.”
“The Culture of Critique, and we continue to see it when the word "virulent" - meaning”
“The gravest manifestation of the power of violence to remain alive and virulent occurs when the violated become abusers.”
“However, three types are what could be described as virulent: wild garlic, bamboo and Japanese knotweed.”
The Wall Street Journal: Monster Species Face Off In a Victorian Garden
“LEAVITT: We'll have a pandemic if a highly-efficient and virulent, that is to say very powerful virus, begins to pass from person to person.”
“The earliest meaning of the adjective virulent from the Latin virus, “poison” was the nature of an infection “marked by a rapid, malignant course.””
“Suddenly, every corner of my skin felt as if it was inflamed by what could only be described as a virulent itch – which no amount of scratching could relieve.”
“The strain is being called virulent, sophisticated, and we had expert on this morning saying basically, you know, that rules out the garden-variety wacko who would try to make this is his kitchen or his bathroom.”
“In the fourth month, in February of 1871, that is, the virulent leprosy that abided in Kinau broke loose, and within the space of a few weeks she became a horribly riddled thing, a walking corpse with thick, bloated face, shivering lips about to fall away and sickening illness in her breasts.”
Hawaii
“From afar, the notion of virulent polarization over the prospect of reforming a health-care system has baffled the”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘virulent’.
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 1128 more...
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Awesome biological adjectives
vespine, virulent, viviparous, vulpine, vulturine, xeromorphic, ursine, ungulate, terricolous, sylvan, setaceous, sciurine and 13 more...
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of Montreal
Every time I finally decipher Kevin Barnes's song lyrics, I feel somewhat smarter.
These are strange/big/obscure words and phrases from the lyrics of the band 'of Montreal' (intentiona...southern hemisphe..., paradigm, Phaidon Press, permutation, List Christie, Gemini Tactics, eluardian, persecution complex, Himmlers, parabola, Mono Club, subconscious mass... and 132 more...
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In provocation
When exasperated, vexed or distressed.
bunkum, pananxiety, hokum, odor of sanctity, facade of strength, bumpkin, sardonic, Philistine, Vandal, dilettante, acerbic, acrid and 11 more...
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Bitterness
acrid, impudent, piquant, virulent, vitriolic, failure pile in a...
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Insulting
petit-bourgeois, impudent, brazenfaced, raise a giant fin..., dripping from the..., virulent, diatribe, vitriolic, failure pile in a...
Wee "Time had been wanton, virulent and spiteful." Money. Amis, Martin. Sep 11, 2011
seanahan That's an excellent metaphoric use of virulent. Jan 4, 2008
brtom "By cunning, cautious; or by nature, cold, 15
In maiden madness, virulently bold!"
Sheridan, School for Scandal Jan 2, 2008