# vicious vs viciously

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### vicious
*adjective · IPA /ˈvɪʃəs/ · frequency rank #9,270*
Violent, destructive and cruel.

### viciously
*adverb · frequency rank #31,816*
In a vicious manner; ferociously or maliciously.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/vicious-vs-viciously