Meanings
comparative more virulent · superlative most virulent
- figurativelyExtremely hostile or malicious; intensely acrimonious.
The politicians were virulent in their hatred of the president.
3 more examples
More venemous and much more virulent / Then any poyſoned tode, or any ſerpent.
c. 1515–1516, published 1568, John Skelton, Againſt venemous tongues enpoyſoned with ſclaunder and falſe detractions &c.It was a casual sneer, obviously one of a long line. There was hatred behind it, but of a quiet, chronic type, nothing new or unduly virulent, and he was taken aback by the flicker of amazed incredulity that passed over the younger man's ravaged face.
1963, Margery Allingham, “The Well House”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC, page 105They were targeted by a virulent strain of nativism toward those from Southern and Eastern Europe that was largely about race.
2025 December 15, Greg Sargent, Inside Stephen Miller’s Dark Plot to Build a MAGA Terror State, The New Republic - biologyOf a pathogen: replicating within its host cell, then immediately causing it to undergo lysis.First known use 1953
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveOf animals, plants, or substances: extremely venomous or poisonous.
adjectiveOf a disease or disease-causing agent: malignant, able to cause damage to the host.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectiveharsh or corrosive in tone
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Frenchvirulent
- Proto-Indo-European*wisós“poison; slime; fluidity”
- Latinvīrulentus“poisonous”
- Middle Englishvirulent“leaking or seeping pus, purulent; (of putrefaction) extremely severe (sense uncertain)”
- Englishvirulent
PIE word *wisós From Middle English virulent (“leaking or seeping pus, purulent; (of putrefaction) extremely severe (sense uncertain)”) [and other forms], borrowed from Latin vīrulentus (“poisonous”), from vīrus (“poison; venom; slime, slimy liquid; stinking smell; nasty taste”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wisós (“poison; slime; fluidity”)) + -ulentus (suffix meaning ‘abounding in, full of’, forming adjectives). Sense 4 (“of a pathogen: replicating within its host cell, then immediately causing it to undergo lysis”) is derived from French virulent, which was first used in this sense by the French biologist François Jacob (1920–2013) and his co-authors in a 1953 article.
More words from Middle English, Latin, Proto-Indo-European
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian силно отровен, злобен
- силно отровен (silno otroven)extremely venomous or poisonous
- злобен (zloben)extremely hostile or malicious; intensely acrimonious
- враждебен (vraždeben)extremely hostile or malicious; intensely acrimonious
- болестотворен (bolestotvoren)malignant, able to cause damage to the host
Catalan virulent
- virulentmalignant, able to cause damage to the host
Czech nepřátelský, virulentní
- nepřátelskýextremely hostile or malicious; intensely acrimonious
- virulentnímalignant, able to cause damage to the host
- nakažlivýmalignant, able to cause damage to the host
Esperanto virulenta
- virulentamalignant, able to cause damage to the host
Finnish katkera, vihamielinen
- katkeraextremely hostile or malicious; intensely acrimonious
- vihamielinenextremely hostile or malicious; intensely acrimonious
- tappavamalignant, able to cause damage to the host
- tarttuvamalignant, able to cause damage to the host
- vahingollinenmalignant, able to cause damage to the host
French virulent, virulent
- virulentextremely hostile or malicious; intensely acrimonious
- virulentmalignant, able to cause damage to the host
German hochgiftig, bösartig
- hochgiftigextremely venomous or poisonous
- bösartigextremely hostile or malicious; intensely acrimonious
- boshaftextremely hostile or malicious; intensely acrimonious
- virulentmalignant, able to cause damage to the host
- extrem ansteckendmalignant, able to cause damage to the host
- bösartigmalignant, able to cause damage to the host
Hungarian virulens
- virulensmalignant, able to cause damage to the host
Norwegian Bokmål giftig, ondskapsfull
- giftigextremely venomous or poisonous
- ondskapsfullextremely hostile or malicious; intensely acrimonious
- giftigextremely hostile or malicious; intensely acrimonious
- virulentextremely hostile or malicious; intensely acrimonious
- virulentmalignant, able to cause damage to the host
Polish jadowity, zjadliwy
- jadowityextremely venomous or poisonous
- zjadliwyextremely hostile or malicious; intensely acrimonious
- złośliwymalignant, able to cause damage to the host
- złośliwyof a pathogen: replicating within its host cell, then immediately causing it to undergo lysis
Portuguese virulento, virulento
- virulentoextremely venomous or poisonous
- virulentomalignant, able to cause damage to the host
- virulentoof a pathogen: replicating within its host cell, then immediately causing it to undergo lysis
Romanian virulent, virulent
- virulentextremely hostile or malicious; intensely acrimonious
- virulentmalignant, able to cause damage to the host
Russian заразный
- заразный (zaraznyj)malignant, able to cause damage to the host
Cite this entry
virulent. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/virulent
“virulent.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/virulent. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “virulent,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/virulent.
Source: virulent on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.