wicked
Usage
What are other ways to say wicked?
Wicked implies willful and determined doing of what is very wrong: a wicked plan. Evil applies to that which violates or leads to the violation of moral law: evil practices. Ill now appears mainly in certain fixed expressions, with a milder implication than that in evil: ill will; ill-natured. Bad is the broadest and simplest term: a bad man; bad habits.
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.
See Examples For:
"I really rate Andy Burnham for what he's done with Manchester. I think he's wicked," said McCulloch, 22.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
Attorney General Peter Neronha calls it “willful, reckless, or wicked, as amounted to criminality.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
But “Blow Out” goes one step further by bringing Jack and Sally — two unwitting parties to the same wicked plot — together.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
Ann Blyth, who was nominated for an Academy Award for playing the wicked, manipulative daughter in the 1945 noir melodrama “Mildred Pierce,” has died at age 98.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 27, 2026
“Oh, Jane, this is bitter! This—this is wicked. It would not be wicked to love me.”
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
So here are deviled eggs, made wickeder by breading and deep-frying the whites, crunchy veneer giving way to wobble.
From New York Times ● Mar. 9, 2017
Think of this book as a typical English-village mystery with a wickeder sting.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 7, 2010
That is Day-Lewis' goal and gift: to be so true to his characters that they need never be sentimentalized, made to seem finer, grander, wickeder or more appealing.
From Time Magazine Archive
I have grown a little paler, a little thinner, and a great deal wickeder, and that is all.
From The Diamond Coterie by Lawrence L. Lynch
"I did n't care that he took Tippoo Saib, or Bergen-op-Zoom, and that's a big word,—for a wickeder pair of devils, by all accounts, never lived,—if he's all right here."
From The Daltons, Volume II (of II) Or,Three Roads In Life by Charles James Lever
Efforts to make it appear that one of the world’s wickedest men would be in thrall to this milky, recessive nonentity are laughable.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
America has a problem,” the title of the bottom-bumping Miami bass jam that doubles as the wickedest joke on the “Renaissance” album.
From New York Times ● Dec. 1, 2023
Both characters are deeply, deeply decent people with an instinct towards caretaking and compassion, with an underlying, usually unspoken assumption that, if they’re kind enough, even the wickedest of foes will be disarmed.
From Slate ● Sep. 4, 2021
For an artist who hated consistency, even the wickedest of styles was worth picking up for a time, if you could dismantle its preconceptions by doing so.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 23, 2016
She had the wickedest smile he'd ever seen on a woman.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
Vocabulary lists containing wicked
Oh, No! Synonyms for "Bad"
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Macbeth's "Is this a dagger..." soliloquy
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"Frankenstein" and "How Frankenstein Began"
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
