violent Hear it!

violent definition

vio·lent (-lənt)

adjective

    1. acting with or characterized by great physical force, so as to injure, damage, or destroy
    2. acting or characterized by force unlawfully or callously used
  2. caused by violence a violent death
    1. showing, or resulting from, strong feeling or emotion; vehement; furious violent language
    2. emotionally disturbed to an uncontrollable degree
  4. extreme; intense; very strong a violent storm
  5. tending to distort the meaning to put a violent construction on a text

Etymology: ME < MFr < L violentus, violent, akin to violare, to violate

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

violent Synonyms

violent

modif.

  1. Showing power

    strong, powerful, forceful, forcible, rough, mighty, great, potent, coercive; see also sense 2.

    Antonyms quiet*, peaceful*, easy-going.

  2. Showing strong emotions

    furious, mad, savage, fierce, passionate, splitting, vehement, frenzied, demonic, demoniac, frantic, fuming, enraged, disturbed, agitated, impassioned, impetuous, urgent, maddened, aroused, inflamed, distraught, infatuated, hysterical, blue in the face*.

    Antonyms calm*, appeased, quieted.

  3. Intense

    great, vehement, extreme; see intense.

  4. Characterized by the use of violence

    destructive, destructible, murderous, homicidal, brutal, rampageous.

    Antonyms expected*, deliberate*, awaited.

  5. Harsh

    drastic, hard, stringent; see severe 2.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

violent Usage Examples

Modifying Another Word

  • potentially: Christine Phillips described Mr S as being in a distressed and potentially violent state.

Preposition: at

  • time: This film is very good, and violent at times.

Modifies a noun

  • crime: Police say reports of nuisance are up; violent crime is on the increase; hard drugs are rife.

Used with adjective complement

  • turn: Over the same weekend, protests in the capital, Kathmandu, have turned violent.
violent usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

violent quotes

   We British are an aggressive nation.We seem to have become more violent this last decade: look how we drive fast and furious, with fists clenched; listen, at the stadiums, how the crowds shout,'Kick his fuckin' head in,'or to the sirens of police cars and ambulances in the shoddy streets of Brixton or Liverpool.

-Abse, Dannie

If I could only live at the pitch that is near madness When everything is as it was in my childhood Violent, vivid and of infinite possibility.

-Eberhart, Richard Ghormley

Games played with the ball, and others of that nature, are too violent for the body, and stamp no character on the mind.

-Jefferson,Thomas

violent quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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"violent." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/violent>

APA Style

violent. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/violent

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