Adjacent Words

Pernicious definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PERNI'CIOUS, a. [L. perniciosus, from pernicies; perneco, to kill; per and nex, necis,death.]
1. Destructive; having the quality of killing, destroying or injuring; very injurious or mischievous. Food, drink or air may be pernicious to life or health.
2. Destructive; tending to injure or destroy. Evil examples are pernicious to morals. Intemperance is a pernicious vice.
3. [L. pernix.] Quick. [Not used.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: exceedingly harmful [syn: baneful, deadly, pernicious, pestilent]
2: working or spreading in a hidden and usually injurious way; "glaucoma is an insidious disease"; "a subtle poison" [syn: insidious, pernicious, subtle]

Merriam Webster's

adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin perniciosus, from pernicies destruction, from per- + nec-, nex violent death — more at noxious Date: 15th century 1. highly injurious or destructive ; deadly 2. archaic wicked • perniciously adverb • perniciousness noun Synonyms: pernicious, baneful, noxious, deleterious, detrimental mean exceedingly harmful. pernicious implies irreparable harm done through evil or insidious corrupting or undermining <the claim that pornography has a pernicious effect on society>. baneful implies injury through poisoning or destroying <the baneful notion that discipline destroys creativity>. noxious applies to what is both offensive and injurious to the health of a body or mind <noxious chemical fumes>. deleterious applies to what has an often unsuspected harmful effect <a diet found to have deleterious effects>. detrimental implies obvious harmfulness to something specified <the detrimental effects of excessive drinking>.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. destructive; ruinous; fatal. Phrases and idioms: pernicious anaemia see ANAEMIA. Derivatives: perniciously adv. perniciousness n. Etymology: L perniciosus f. pernicies ruin f. nex necis death

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Pernicious Per*ni"cious, a. [L. pernix, -icis.] Quick; swift (to burn). [R.] --Milton.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Pernicious Per*ni"cious, a. [L. perniciosus, from pernicies destruction, from pernecare to kill or slay outright; per + necare to kill, slay: cf. F. pernicieux. Cf. Nuisance, Necromancy.] Having the quality of injuring or killing; destructive; very mischievous; baleful; malicious; wicked. Let this pernicious hour Stand aye accursed in the calendar. --Shak. Pernicious to his health. --Prescott. Syn: Destructive; ruinous; deadly; noxious; injurious; baneful; deleterious; hurtful; mischievous. -- Per*ni"cious*ly, adv., -- Per*ni"cious*ness, n.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

If you describe something as pernicious, you mean that it is very harmful. (FORMAL) I did what I could, but her mother's influence was pernicious... ADJ

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Hurtful, harmful, deleterious, injurious, detrimental, baneful, baleful, prejudicial, noxious, noisome, mischievous, damaging, disadvantageous, destructive, ruinous, fatal, deadly, malign. 2. Malicious, wicked, evil-hearted, malignant, malign, mischievous, mischief-making, malevolent.

Moby Thesaurus

baleful, baneful, brutal, corroding, corrosive, corrupting, corruptive, counterproductive, damaging, deadly, death-bringing, deathful, deathly, deleterious, destructive, detrimental, devastating, disadvantageous, disserviceable, distressing, fatal, feral, harmful, hurtful, injurious, internecine, killing, lethal, malefic, maleficent, malevolent, malign, malignant, miasmatic, miasmic, mischievous, mortal, noisome, noxious, ominous, pestiferous, pestilent, pestilential, poisonous, prejudicial, ruinous, savage, scatheful, sinister, swart, toxic, venenate, veneniferous, venenous, venomous, vicious, virulent