viciousness

noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"viciousness" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“viciousness” is an uncommon English word, ranked #71,207 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#71,207
frequency rank, English
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - the characteristic of being vicious

Key facts for viciousness
PropertyValue
Headwordviciousness
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters11
Frequency rank#71,207
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “viciousness” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). viciousness lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for viciousness is 11 letters long, classified as a noun. Corpus data places it at rank #71,207 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for viciousness, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English viciousnesse; equivalent to vicious + -ness. The correct English form is viciousness, spelled V-I-C-I-O-U-S-N-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    the characteristic of being vicious
  2. 2
    the desire to cause harm to others; extreme cruelty

Etymology

From Middle English viciousnesse; equivalent to vicious + -ness.

This word in other languages

saña(Español)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "viciousness"?
"viciousness" is spelled V-I-C-I-O-U-S-N-E-S-S.
What does "viciousness" mean?
As a noun, "viciousness" means: the characteristic of being vicious
What is the origin of the word "viciousness"?
From Middle English viciousnesse; equivalent to vicious + -ness. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “viciousness”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is V-I-C-I-O-U-S-N-E-S-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list