pernicious

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The feisty heroine is Iris Hawkins, who, in the course of a tentative love affair with a nerdy engineer named Geoffrey Hale, discovers the pernicious designs of a secret order.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026

But there are also much more pernicious problems.

From Slate • Mar. 1, 2026

The five-year bout of high inflation is part of the pernicious legacy of the coronavirus pandemic that began in 2020.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 23, 2026

Pierre Vabres, a member of the French Society of Dermatology, believes there is also a pernicious psychological effect of exposing children to beauty routines -- and then seeking to sell them products.

From Barron's • Nov. 28, 2025

Just about all he could find in its favor was that it paid well and liberated children from the pernicious influence of their parents.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller