wick ‧ ed S3 /ˈwɪkəd, ˈwɪkɪd/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Origin: wick 'wicked' (12-20 centuries) , perhaps from Old English wicca ; ⇨ ↑ witch ]
1 . behaving in a way that is morally wrong SYN evil :
the wicked stepmother in ‘Hansel and Gretel’
2 . informal behaving badly in a way that is amusing:
Carl had a wicked grin on his face as he crept up behind Ellen.
Tara hasn’t lost her wicked sense of humour.
3 . spoken informal very good:
That’s a wicked bike!
—wickedly adverb
—wickedness noun [uncountable]
• • •
THESAURUS
■ very unkind
▪ horrible especially spoken very unkind:
Why is Jack always so horrible to me?
▪ cruel very unkind and deliberately making people feel unhappy or making them suffer physically:
Her father was very cruel to her.
|
a selfish, cruel woman
▪ wicked /ˈwɪkəd, ˈwɪkɪd/ extremely unkind and behaving in a very immoral way:
a wicked thing to do
|
the wicked stepmother in Cinderella
▪ sadistic extremely unkind and enjoying making other people suffer:
Their father was a sadistic bully who beat them regularly.
|
He took a certain sadistic pleasure in his job.