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View synonyms for violent

violent

[ vahy-uh-luhnt, vahy-luhnt ]

adjective

  1. acting with or characterized by uncontrolled, strong, rough force:

    a violent earthquake.

  2. caused by injurious or destructive force:

    a violent death.

  3. intense in force, effect, etc.; severe; extreme:

    violent pain;

    violent cold.

  4. roughly or immoderately vehement or ardent:

    violent passions.

  5. furious in impetuosity, energy, etc.:

    violent haste.

  6. of, relating to, or constituting a distortion of meaning or fact.


violent

/ ˈvaɪələnt /

adjective

  1. marked or caused by great physical force or violence

    a violent stab

  2. (of a person) tending to the use of violence, esp in order to injure or intimidate others
  3. marked by intensity of any kind

    a violent clash of colours

  4. characterized by an undue use of force; severe; harsh
  5. caused by or displaying strong or undue mental or emotional force

    a violent tongue

  6. tending to distort the meaning or intent

    a violent interpretation of the text

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Derived Forms

  • ˈviolently, adverb
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Other Words From

  • vi·o·lent·ly adverb
  • o·ver·vi·o·lent adjective
  • o·ver·vi·o·lent·ness noun
  • qua·si-vi·o·lent adjective
  • self-vi·o·lent adjective
  • ul·tra·vi·o·lent adjective
  • un·vi·o·lent adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of violent1

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Latin violentus, equivalent to vi-, shortening (before a vowel) of base of vīs “force, violence” + -olentus, variant (after a vowel) of -ulentus -ulent
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Word History and Origins

Origin of violent1

C14: from Latin violentus, probably from vīs strength
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Example Sentences

More progressive activists have pushed the 8 to Abolition to move toward less violent emergency response systems.

From Vox

This directs a disproportionate amount of attention across the entire media ecosystem to violent protesters.

According to a colleague, Legagneur was working on an independent project in Grand-Ravine, known for high rates of violent gang activity.

From Fortune

As violent protests against police brutality have roiled the country, so has a debate over the looting and property damage they have left in their wake.

From Vox

Some followers have already committed destructive, sometimes violent, acts in the name of their beliefs.

The film has one of the most famous violent sequences of all time.

Forget those silly “games played with the ball”; they are far “too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind.”

While violent offenses are dramatically down in Bed Stuy, pockets of violence persist here.

On and offline, offenses ranged from awful Tinder messages to violent threats on Twitter to street stalking.

And, also, the violent version is, I think a little bit too much for a comedy.

He has been ashore at Kum Kale and reports violent fighting and, for the time being, victory.

The next morning he came rushing into the office, in a violent state of excitement.

Thereupon the governor attacked him alone, and giving a violent push on the door, opened it.

He made a violent assault against the nation of his enemies, and in the descent he destroyed the adversaries.

The violent shock dazed Malcolm for a second, but all might yet have been well were it not for an unavoidable accident.

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