INDEX:
1. people and their behaviour
2. a violent person
3. animals
4. stories, films etc
5. violent behaviour
6. a violent situation
7. deliberately avoiding violence
RELATED WORDS
see also
↑ CRUEL
↑ DANGEROUS
↑ FIGHT
↑ ATTACK
↑ KILL
↑ THREATEN
↑ HIT
↑ CRIME
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1. people and their behaviour
▷ violent /ˈvaɪələnt/ [adjective]
someone who is violent attacks people physically, especially because this is part of their character. A violent action involves physical attacks on people :
▪ My father was a violent man who couldn’t control his temper.
▪ There was a violent protest outside the court, and a police officer was injured.
violent crime
▪ Everyone is worried about the increase in violent crime.
turn violent
suddenly start to behave violently
▪ Travellers to the country have been urged to avoid large crowds, which have occasionally turned violent in the past.
violently [adverb]
▪ He was violently attacked by a gang of youths.
▷ brutal /ˈbruːtl/ [adjective]
very cruel and violent, and without any pity :
▪ The police are searching for the brutal attacker of a 98-year-old woman.
▪ Some of the prison guards were brutal and corrupt.
▪ a brutal dictator
brutal murder/attack/killing etc
▪ Carter was jailed for the brutal murder of a young mother of three.
brutally [adverb]
▪ The boy’s body was found on wasteland, brutally stabbed to death.
▷ aggressive /əˈgresɪv/ [adjective]
someone who is aggressive behaves in an angry way, and seems to want to fight or argue, often when this is a part of their character :
▪ Some of the crowd were very aggressive, shouting and banging on windows.
▪ Kids who play violent video games show much more aggressive behaviour than those who don’t.
aggressively [adverb]
▪ The driver of the truck leant out of the window and yelled at me aggressively.
▷ vicious /ˈvɪʃəs/ [adjective]
someone who is vicious is violent and dangerous and seems to enjoy hurting people for no reason :
▪ We found ourselves surrounded by a gang of vicious young thugs, armed with belts, sticks and stones.
▪ ‘It was a particularly vicious crime,’ a police spokesman said.
vicious attack/assault
▪ Apparently the girl was the victim of a vicious sex attack.
visciously [adverb]
▪ The baby had been viciously battered to death.
▷ savage /ˈsævɪdʒ/ [adjective]
hurting people in a particularly cruel way :
▪ Police are hunting the savage killer of five men in South London.
▪ There was savage fighting in and around the eastern border towns.
▪ Fussell described the war as ‘appallingly cruel and savage.’
savagely [adverb]
▪ It is alleged that Davies savagely attacked Mrs Cousins with a knife.
▷ ferocious /fəˈrəʊʃəs/ [adjective]
a ferocious attack or fight is extremely violent :
▪ It was one of the most ferocious attacks on prison officers I have ever seen.
▪ Defence lawyers claimed that the shooting was a spontaneous reaction, ferocious, but not part of a plan.
ferociously [adverb]
▪ The boy fought ferociously.
▷ rough /rʌf/ [adjective]
using force or violence but not causing serious injury :
▪ Some of the boys were being a bit rough with the younger kids.
rough treatment/handling
▪ The hostages received some rough treatment during their long period of captivity.
▪ The police have been criticized for their rough handling of the demonstrators.
roughly [adverb]
▪ A man on the subway grabbed her roughly, asking for money.
2. a violent person
▷ thug /θʌg/ [countable noun]
a man, especially a criminal, who has rough manners and uses violent methods :
▪ A policeman is fighting for his life after young thugs threw a brick through his patrol car windscreen.
▪ A gang of thugs was waiting for him round the back. He didn’t have a chance.
▷ brute /bruːt/ [countable noun]
if you call a man a brute, you mean he is cruel and violent and does not care if he hurts people :
▪ She spun round and screamed, ‘Leave him alone, you brute!’
a brute of a man
▪ Milly had a husband -- a great brute of a man who knocked her about.
▷ hooligan also hoodlum American /ˈhuːlɪgən, ˈhuːləgən, ˈhuːdləm/ [countable noun]
a violent young man, often a member of a group, who enjoys causing damage and hurting people, especially in public places :
▪ According to the report, the riots had been started by a group of young hoodlums.
▪ Football hooligans caused over £30,000 of damage in bars and restaurants near the stadium.
▪ His father was attacked by a gang of hooligans in a back street.
▷ psychopath /ˈsaɪkəpæθ/ [countable noun]
a mentally ill person who behaves violently and kills people, and is unable to feel sorry :
▪ Police described the killer as a psychopath.
▪ The main character in the movie is Dr Hannibal Lector, who displays all the characteristics of a psychopath.
3. animals
▷ fierce /fɪəʳs/ [adjective]
a fierce animal looks very frightening and is ready to attack people :
▪ The dog was standing at the gate, looking fierce and growling.
▪ Swans are always fierce in defence of their young.
fiercely [adverb]
▪ The female spider often reacts fiercely to the male’s advances.
▷ vicious /ˈvɪʃəs/ [adjective]
a vicious animal is likely to attack and cause injury, often suddenly and for no reason :
▪ Keep away from that horse -- he can be vicious.
▪ Rottweilers are vicious dogs, far too dangerous to have as pets.
viciously [adverb]
▪ I put out my hand to stroke the cat but it spat at me viciously.
▷ savage /ˈsævɪdʒ/ [adjective]
violent in a completely uncontrolled way, and always ready to attack :
▪ They caught the monkey, but it was so savage that no one could get near enough to feed it.
▪ At night, packs of savage dogs roamed the streets.
savagely [adverb]
▪ The dog snarled savagely as soon as we came near.
▷ ferocious /fəˈrəʊʃəs/ [adjective]
violent and frighteningly powerful, and so able to cause great harm :
▪ The tiger is a ferocious beast which has already killed ten villagers.
▪ These bears look ferocious, but attacks by them are extremely rare.
ferociously [adverb]
▪ The eagle tears at its prey ferociously with its beak.
4. stories, films etc
▷ violent /ˈvaɪələnt/ [adjective]
violent films, stories, or television programmes contain a lot of fighting and killing :
▪ I think Tarantino’s films are too violent.
▪ Do violent programmes and video games really cause people to become more aggressive?
▷ gory /ˈgɔːri/ [adjective]
gory films, descriptions etc clearly show or describe violent injuries, blood, death etc :
▪ The book’s descriptions of the killings were unbelievably gory.
▪ a gory horror movie
5. violent behaviour
▷ violence /ˈvaɪələns/ [uncountable noun]
fighting, killing, and other violent behaviour :
▪ In some parts of the city, teachers have to deal with violence in the classroom.
▪ complaints about sex and violence on TV
violence against
▪ The statistics show that male violence against women is widespread.
▷ aggression /əˈgreʃ ə n/ [uncountable noun]
angry feelings or behaviour that often results in fighting :
▪ In a prison, drugs sometimes have to be used to control aggression.
aggression in
▪ Some people think that aggression in children may be caused by the food they eat.
aggression towards/toward
▪ Low-ranking male chimpanzees eat with the dominant females, who show no aggresssion towards them.
▷ brutality /bruːˈtælɪti, bruːˈtæləti/ [uncountable noun]
deliberately cruel and violent behaviour that shows no pity for the person who is injured or killed :
▪ Civil rights activists were appalled by the brutality of the police.
mindless brutality
used to emphasize that there is no good reason for a violent action
▪ The killings were an act of mindless brutality.
▷ savagery /ˈsævɪdʒ ə ri/ [uncountable noun]
extreme and uncontrolled violence in which people are attacked and killed :
▪ Thompson condemned the murder as ‘an appalling attack of savagery’.
▪ The book tells of the boys’ rapid descent into savagery, and the use of torture and terror.
▷ ferocity /fəˈrɒsɪti, fəˈrɒsətiǁfəˈrɑː-/ [uncountable noun]
extreme violence in fighting or in attacking someone :
▪ Further attacks escalated rapidly in extent and ferocity.
the ferocity of something
▪ The knife had snapped in two from the ferocity of the attack.
▪ The ferocity of the piranha fish has made it famous.
▷ force /fɔːʳs/ [uncountable noun]
violent action, used in order to make someone do something :
▪ We want to end the demonstration without force.
use force
▪ The police do not use force when arresting people unless it’s absolutely necessary.
by force
using force
▪ Her husband tried to get the children back by force.
6. a violent situation
▷ riot /ˈraɪət/ [countable noun]
a situation in which a large crowd of people is behaving in a violent and uncontrolled way, especially when they are protesting about something :
▪ More than 150 officers battled to end the riots outside the embassy.
race riots
between people of different races
▪ In 1943 there were violent race riots in Detroit in which 25 black people died.
prison/student etc riots
▪ the student riots in Paris in the 1960s
riots erupt/break out
start suddenly and violently
▪ Riots erupted in the capital after police banned two anti-government demonstrations.
put down a riot
stop a riot
▪ The army was called in to put down the riots.
riot police
police whose job is to stop riots
▪ Riot police used tear gas against the protestors.
▷ unrest /ʌnˈrest/ [uncountable noun]
a social or political situation in which people protest and often behave violently :
▪ In the unrest since January, 103 people have died.
civil/industrial/political/social etc unrest
▪ The Foreign Office is advising people not to travel to the area, because of civil unrest.
▪ a wave of nation-wide strikes and industrial unrest
a state of unrest
▪ For several weeks students at the university have been in a state of unrest.
▷ disturbance /dɪˈstɜːʳbəns/ [countable noun usually plural]
a situation in which people fight or behave violently in public :
▪ The government is introducing special new measures to deal with prison riots and disturbances.
civil disturbances
▪ Israel was reported to be offering guidance to the army on controlling civil disturbances.
minor/major disturbances
▪ There were minor disturbances in Amman during the recent by-elections.
7. deliberately avoiding violence
▷ peaceful /ˈpiːsf ə l/ [adjective]
▪ The revolution turned out to be less peaceful than we had hoped.
▪ On May 13th, there was a peaceful demonstration of students calling for the resignation of the military regime.
peacefully [adverb]
▪ The protest march began peacefully, but soon descended into violence.
▷ non-violent /nɒn ˈvaɪələnt/ [adjective]
non-violent methods, protests, organizations etc deliberately avoid using violence :
▪ Our organization has always been non-violent and non-partisan.
▪ In 1942, the Congress Party demanded immediate independence, and threatened massive though non-violent resistance.
non-violence [uncountable noun]
▪ It was in South Africa that Gandhi first used methods of non-violence, by staging sit-ins for the ‘coloured’ population.