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- Dictionarypernicious/pəˈnɪʃəs/
adjective
- 1. having a harmful effect, especially in a gradual or subtle way: "the pernicious influences of the mass media"
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Its original meaning in English, “highly injurious or destructive,” usually applies to things (“pernicious apathy,” “pernicious effects”) and medical conditions (“pernicious fever,” “pernicious anemia”). When applied to people, pernicious means “wicked.”
having a very harmful effect or influence: The cuts in government funding have had a pernicious effect on local health services. SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases. Dangerous and harmful. adverse conditions. adverse effect. adverse publicity. adverse reaction. deleteriously. destabilizing. destructively. destructiveness. inimically.
Synonyms for PERNICIOUS: harmful, dangerous, detrimental, damaging, adverse, bad, poisonous, deleterious; Antonyms of PERNICIOUS: benign, harmless, beneficial, innocuous, innocent, useful, safe, inoffensive.
If you describe something as pernicious, you mean that it is very harmful. [formal] Parents are blaming not only peer pressure but also the pernicious influence of the internet. There is a pernicious culture of excellence: everything has to be not merely good but the best. Synonyms: wicked, bad, damaging, dangerous More Synonyms of pernicious.
Pernicious means harmful and subtle, such as a poison gas that causes illness in those exposed to it over the course of years. Pernicious comes from the Latin perniciosus, "destructive," which in turn comes from pernicies, "death" or "ruin."
pernicious. adjective. formal us / pɚˈnɪʃ.əs / uk / pəˈnɪʃ.əs /. Add to word list. having a very harmful effect or influence: The cuts in government funding have had a pernicious effect on local health services. SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases. Dangerous and harmful. adverse.
adj. 1. Tending to cause death or serious injury; deadly: a pernicious virus. 2. Causing great harm; destructive: pernicious rumors. [Middle English, from Old French pernicios, from Latin perniciōsus, from perniciēs, destruction : per-, per- + nex, nec-, violent death; see nek- in Indo-European roots.] per·ni′cious·ly adv. per·ni′cious·ness n.
pernicious. adjective. /pəˈnɪʃəs/. /pərˈnɪʃəs/. (formal) having a very harmful effect on somebody/something, especially in a way that is not easily noticed. the pernicious influence of TV violence on children. Ageism is equally as offensive and pernicious as sexism. Oxford Collocations Dictionary.
Pernicious definition: causing insidious harm or ruin; ruinous; injurious; hurtful. See examples of PERNICIOUS used in a sentence.
There are three meanings listed in OED's entry for the adjective pernicious. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.
