pernicious
adjective
Did you know?
insidious, sinister, or pernicious?
Few would choose to be associated with people or things that are insidious, sinister, or pernicious; all three of these words have decidedly unpleasant meanings, each with its own particular shade of nastiness.
Insidious comes from a Latin word for “ambush” (insidiae), which is fitting, as this word often carries the meanings “deceitful,” “stealthy,” or “harmful in an imperceptible fashion.” The first two meanings may be applied to people or things (“an insidious enemy,” “an insidious plot”), while the last is usually applied to things (“insidious problems,” “insidious sexism”), in particular to the gradual progress of a disease (“an insidious malignancy”).
Sinister comes from a Latin word meaning “on the left side, unlucky, inauspicious.” Although it is commonly used today in the sense “evil” (“a sinister cult leader”; “a sinister plot”), it may also suggest an ominous foreshadowing of some unfavorable turn of events (“a sinister omen”).
Pernicious has largely stayed true to its etymological root, the Latin noun pernicies “ruin, destruction.” 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.”
Synonyms
- adverse
- bad
- baleful
- baneful
- damaging
- dangerous
- deleterious
- detrimental
- evil
- harmful
- hurtful
- ill
- injurious
- mischievous
- nocuous
- noxious
- prejudicial
- wicked
Example Sentences
Barbara Ehrenreich, Nation, 20 Nov. 1995 The more it [the Papacy] took part in the temporal conflicts with consistently pernicious result, the more impotent among the monarchs it revealed itself … Barbara W. Tuchman, The March of Folly, 1984 At its most pernicious, paper entrepreneurialism involves little more than imposing losses on others for the sake of short-term profits for the firm. Robert B. Reich, Atlantic, March 1983 More pernicious still has been the acceptance of the author's controversial ideas by the general public. the pernicious effects of jealousy She thinks television has a pernicious influence on our children. See More Vicky Spratt, refinery29.com, 6 June 2022 Scant rainfall, gusty winds and anomalously warm temperatures during the months of April and May — following a winter with little snow — proved pernicious, helping the fires to fester and grow uncontrollably. Jason Samenow, Washington Post, 21 June 2022 Because the pernicious effects of these substances often show themselves slowly—and are so widespread—few will be able to prove harm or secure a settlement. Jasper Craven, The New Republic, 28 June 2021 In Milbank’s narrative, Gingrich emerges as Trump’s second-most-pernicious mentor, after Roy Cohn. Christopher Buckley, Washington Post, 5 Aug. 2022 That smacks of McCarthyism and is especially pernicious at a sensitive political moment. Susan Brooks, WSJ, 10 Aug. 2022 What’s pernicious is the inference that things will never get better. Brennan Barnard, Forbes, 6 July 2022 But the 10-year budget window is again proving to have pernicious effects on how Congress spends our money. Elizabeth Bauer, Forbes, 30 June 2022 Jan De Loecker, a professor at KU Leuven in Belgium who was a co-author of a seminal paper on the pernicious effects of rising market concentration, doubts that concentration worsens price increases across the board. New York Times, 3 June 2022 See More Word History
Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin perniciosus, from pernicies destruction, from per- + nec-, nex violent death — more at noxious
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Phrases Containing pernicious
Kids Definition
pernicious
adjective
Medical Definition
pernicious
adjective
pernicious
adjective
Synonyms & Similar Words
- harmful
- dangerous
- damaging
- detrimental
- adverse
- bad
- deleterious
- poisonous
- baneful
- evil
- injurious
- hazardous
- noxious
- hurtful
- infectious
- prejudicial
- wicked
- baleful
- mischievous
- destructive
- insidious
- deadly
- hostile
- nocuous
- ill
- sinister
- venomous
- pestiferous
- pestilential
- pestilent
- lethal
- infective
- unsafe
- inimical
- malignant
- unfriendly
- ominous
- threatening
- risky
- fatal
- perilous
- menacing
- unhealthful
- unwholesome
- contagious
- ruinous
- unhealthy
- noisome
- unsound
- killer
- imperiling
- parlous
- nasty
- jeopardizing
- imperilling
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- benign
- harmless
- beneficial
- innocuous
- anodyne
- innocent
- useful
- inoffensive
- advantageous
- safe
- salutary
- favorable
- good
- remedial
- propitious
- healthful
- curative
- wholesome
- salubrious
- palliative
- healthy
- helpful
- hurtless
- sound
- secure
- benignant
- nonpoisonous
- nonlethal
- nondestructive
- nontoxic
- noninfectious
- nonfatal
- noncorrosive
- nonpolluting
- nonvenomous
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of pernicious are baneful, deleterious, detrimental, and noxious. While all these words mean "exceedingly harmful," pernicious implies irreparable harm done through evil or insidious corrupting or undermining.
The words baneful and pernicious are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, baneful implies injury through poisoning or destroying.
While in some cases nearly identical to pernicious, deleterious applies to what has an often unsuspected harmful effect.
The meanings of detrimental and pernicious largely overlap; however, detrimental implies obvious harmfulness to something specified.
While the synonyms noxious and pernicious are close in meaning, noxious applies to what is both offensive and injurious to the health of a body or mind.