pernicious

[ per-nish-uhs ]
/ pərˈnɪʃ əs /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR pernicious ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

causing insidious harm or ruin; ruinous; injurious; hurtful: pernicious teachings; a pernicious lie.
deadly; fatal: a pernicious disease.
Obsolete. evil; wicked.

Origin of pernicious

1515–25; < Latin perniciōsus ruinous, equivalent to pernici(ēs) ruin ( per- per- + -nici-, combining form of nex death, murder (stem nec-) + -iēs noun suffix) + -ōsus -ous

OTHER WORDS FROM pernicious

per·ni·cious·ly, adverb per·ni·cious·ness, noun un·per·ni·cious, adjective un·per·ni·cious·ly, adverb

Words nearby pernicious

permutation, permutation group, permute, pernambuco, pernancy, pernicious, pernicious anaemia, pernicious anemia, pernicious vomiting, pernickety, pernik

Words related to pernicious

devastating, noxious, deadly, poisonous, virulent, malicious, harmful, toxic, nefarious, detrimental, dangerous, lethal, ruinous, destructive, damaging, baleful, deleterious, evil, fatal, iniquitous

Example sentences from the Web for pernicious

British Dictionary definitions for pernicious

pernicious
/ (pəˈnɪʃəs) /

adjective

wicked or malicious pernicious lies
causing grave harm; deadly

Derived forms of pernicious

perniciously, adverb perniciousness, noun

Word Origin for pernicious

C16: from Latin perniciōsus, from perniciēs ruin, from per- (intensive) + nex death

Medical definitions for pernicious

pernicious
[ pər-nĭsh′əs ]

adj.

Tending to cause death or serious injury; deadly.