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pernicious

Pronunciation: /pəˈnɪʃəs/
Translate pernicious | into German | into Italian
Definition of pernicious

adjective

  • having a harmful effect, especially in a gradual or subtle way:the pernicious influences of the mass media

Derivatives

perniciously

adverb

perniciousness

noun

Origin:

late Middle English: from Latin perniciosus 'destructive', from pernicies 'ruin', based on nex, nec- 'death'

Spelling help

The ending of pernicious is spelled -cious.

pernicious in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of pernicious in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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