Vile

//vaɪ(ə)l// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    That which is vile; vileness. uncountable

    "“I had seen those two work before—in the smoking-room the day prior to their attack on you, if I recollect it correctly, and so, knowing their methods, I am convinced that their enmity is a sufficient guarantee of the integrity of its object. Men such as they must cleave only to the vile, hating all that is noblest and best.”"

Adjective
  1. 1
    Morally low; base; despicable.

    "vile accusation"

  2. 2
    Causing physical or mental repulsion; horrid.

    "I glimpsed a vile squid-like creature in the depths."

Adjective
  1. 1
    morally reprehensible wordnet
  2. 2
    causing or able to cause nausea wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
basedespicablenauseatingabandonedgrimabandoned

Example

More examples

"Wisdom and goodness to the vile seem vile."

Etymology

From Middle English vile, vyle, vyl, from Anglo-Norman ville, Old French vil, vile, from Latin vīlis.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.