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wicked

adjective

  1. demented, maleficent
L17447 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˈwɪkɪd/ / /ˈwɪk.ɪd/ / /ˈwək.əd/ / /wɪkt/ / /wəkt/

adj

Etymology: See wick.

  1. Active; brisk.
  2. Infested with maggots.
  3. Alternative form of wick, as applying to inanimate objects only.

adv

Etymology: From Middle English wicked, wikked, an alteration of Middle English wicke, wikke (“morally perverse, evil, wicked”). Of uncertain origin. Possibly from an adjectival use of Old English wiċċa (“wizard, sorcerer”), from Proto-West Germanic *wikkō (“necromancer, sorcerer”), though the phonology makes this theory difficult to explain. Alternatively, perhaps related to English wicker, Old Norse víkja (“to bend to, yield, turn, move”), Swedish vika (“to bend, fold, give way to”), English weak. The "excellent, awesome" sense is an ameliorative semantic shift from the original sense of "evil, mischievous". Compare similar semantic development in terrific and sick.

  1. To a superlative extent, very, extremely

    I didn't really wanna go see On Golden Pond with the fam, but my mom made me go, and I must say that in retrospect it was a wicked expressive film, with a lot of significant meaning.

    The band we went to see the other night was pissah, and they were wicked loud!

noun

Etymology: From Middle English wicked, wikked, an alteration of Middle English wicke, wikke (“morally perverse, evil, wicked”). Of uncertain origin. Possibly from an adjectival use of Old English wiċċa (“wizard, sorcerer”), from Proto-West Germanic *wikkō (“necromancer, sorcerer”), though the phonology makes this theory difficult to explain. Alternatively, perhaps related to English wicker, Old Norse víkja (“to bend to, yield, turn, move”), Swedish vika (“to bend, fold, give way to”), English weak. The "excellent, awesome" sense is an ameliorative semantic shift from the original sense of "evil, mischievous". Compare similar semantic development in terrific and sick.

  1. Wicked (evil) people collectively.

    And goodness knows the wicked's lives are lonely / Goodness knows the wicked die alone

verb

Etymology: See wick.

  1. simple past and past participle of wick