I. ˈvīl, esp before pause or consonant -īəl adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English vil, vile, from Old French vil, from Latin vilis cheap, base, vile; perhaps akin to Latin venus, venum sale — more at venal
1. : of small worth or account
the sea, wherein he counts not one inch of vile dominion — Robert Browning
: of inferior quality or state : common
Savior … shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body — Phil 3:21 (Authorized Version)
: mean
wrapped in a vile disguise — P.B.Shelley
2.
a. : morally despicable or abhorrent
instills vile suspicions into her confiding soul — Karl Polanyi
the vilest specimens of human nature are to be found among demagogues — T.B.Macaulay
b. : physically repulsive (as from filth or corruption) : foul
the plagues that came from the vile unsanitary quarters of the industrial city — Lewis Mumford
3. : tending to degrade a person : humiliating , ignominious
a slave, in the vilest of all positions — F.W.Farrar
4.
a. : disgustingly bad or inferior : highly objectionable
in a vile temper
: contemptible
the vile habit of thinking that the latest is always the best — M.R.Cohen
a vile climate
vile handwriting
writes vile verse
b. : great , extreme — used intensively with nouns denoting a bad quality or state
protecting her against the vilest evil Europe has yet produced — Beverley Nichols
Synonyms: see base
II. adverb
Etymology: Middle English vil, vile, from vil, vile, adjective
: vilely — used chiefly in combination
vile -born