violent
[ vahy-uh-luh nt ]
/ ˈvaɪ ə lənt /
adjective
acting with or characterized by uncontrolled, strong, rough force: a violent earthquake.
caused by injurious or destructive force: a violent death.
intense in force, effect, etc.; severe; extreme: violent pain; violent cold.
roughly or immoderately vehement or ardent: violent passions.
furious in impetuosity, energy, etc.: violent haste.
of, relating to, or constituting a distortion of meaning or fact.
Origin of violent
1300–50; Middle English < Latin
violentus, equivalent to
vi-, shortening (before a vowel) of base of
vīs force, violence +
-olentus, variant (after a vowel) of
-ulentus
-ulent
OTHER WORDS FROM violent
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH violent
violent virulentWords nearby violent
violaceous,
violate,
violation,
violative,
violence,
violent,
violent storm,
violescent,
violet,
violet family,
violet iris
Example sentences from the Web for violently
British Dictionary definitions for violently
violent
/ (ˈvaɪələnt) /
adjective
marked or caused by great physical force or violence
a violent stab
(of a person) tending to the use of violence, esp in order to injure or intimidate others
marked by intensity of any kind
a violent clash of colours
characterized by an undue use of force; severe; harsh
caused by or displaying strong or undue mental or emotional force
a violent tongue
tending to distort the meaning or intent
a violent interpretation of the text
Derived forms of violent
violently, adverbWord Origin for violent
C14: from Latin
violentus, probably from
vīs strength