violent

Involving extreme force or motion.

Adjective

  1. Involving extreme force or motion.
    • A violent wind ripped the branch from the tree.
  2. Involving physical conflict.
    • We would rather negotiate, but we will use violent means if necessary.
    • Looking at hundreds of campaigns over the last century, Chenoweth found that nonviolent campaigns are twice as likely to achieve their goals as violent campaigns. - 2019 May 13, David Robson, “The '3.5% rule': How a...
  3. Likely to use physical force.
    • The escaped prisoners are considered extremely violent.
  4. Intensely vivid.
    • The artist expressed his emotional theme through violent colors.
    • his violent objections to the plan
    • We have already observed, that he was a very good-natured fellow, and he hath himself declared the violent attachment he had to the person and character of Jones […] - 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a...
  5. Produced or effected by force; not spontaneous; unnatural.
    • These violent delights have violent ends. - c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London:...
    • 1684-1690, Thomas Burnet, Sacred Theory of the Earth and no violent state by his own Maxim, can be perpetual,
    • Ease would recant / Vows made in pain, as violent and void. - 1667, John Milton, “Book IV”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd...
  6. Acute, extreme, sharp.
    • a violent headache
    • Palace made it 3-1 on 81 minutes, Nketiah nipping in to finish nicely, then doing a no-celebration pose in front of the away fans. Nketiah grew up a couple of miles from the Den. It felt, at the very least, like a...

Origin

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *weyh₁-der. Proto-Indo-European *wéyh₁s Proto-Italic *wīs Latin vīs Latin violō Latin -entus Latin violentusbor. Old French violentbor. Middle English violent English violent From Middle English violent, from Old French violent, from Latin violentus, from vīs (“strength”). Displaced native Old English stræc. For the verb, compare French violenter.

Forms

violenter more violent violentest most violent

Antonyms

peaceful

Related

violence

Derived

non-violent silent-but-violent violentism violent presumption violent profits violent relaxation violent storm

Noun

  1. An assailant.
    • Did the Covetous extortioner observe that he is involv'd in the same sentence, [and] remember that such Violents shall take not heaven, but hell, by force. - 1667, Richard Allestree, The Causes of the Decay of Christian...

Forms

violents

Verb

  1. To urge with violence.
    • a great adversary , stepping in , so violented his Majesty to a trial - 1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church-history of Britain; […], London: […] Iohn Williams […], →OCLC, (please specify |book=I to XI):

Forms

violents violenting violented