V2 Vocabulary Building Dictionary



Definition: 1. extremely poisonous or infectious; 2. extremely hateful and antagonistic

Synonyms: poisonous, deadly, venomous, malignant, infective, corrosive, hostile, hateful, malicious, antagonistic, acrimonious, vicious, bitter

Antonyms: innocuous, friendly

Tips: Virulent comes from the Latin virus, which means "poison." Viruses are virulent. Virulent can be used literally to describe something poisonous or figuratively to describe something hostile, antagonistic, or mean. Think of an angry snake that wants to attack with its virulent (poisonous) bite; if someone is attacking you verbally or is full of venom toward you, then they or their actions are virulent, just like the angry snake.

Usage Examples:

Doctors were successful in creating a vaccine for the highly virulent strain of influenza. (deadly, infective, hostile)

I don't understand his virulent critique of my work, when it's clear I did the best job possible. (hostile, hateful, mean)

His virulent comments were obviously said to hurt me. (hostile, mean, antagonistic)

Her virulent attitude toward hard work doesn't make it easy for her to keep a job for very long. (hostile, bitter)

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