English Reference
adjective

vile

adj.
US /ˈvaɪɫ/ UK /vˈaɪl/ vile

  1. 01 C1 Advanced Formal

    extremely wicked or evil.

    morally base, despicable, or depraved. Often used to describe actions, crimes, or characters in a narrative context.

    Simple

    The villain in the story committed a vile crime against the innocent villagers.

    In context

    The dictator's vile treatment of political prisoners drew condemnation from human rights organisations across the globe.

    Usage

    Usually precedes the noun it modifies.

Usage vile campaign · vile smear

Cambridge initially defended Arday as “the victim of a vile campaign” before announcing that it would conduct an internal investigation of “new information” regarding Arday, who then resigned shortly after.

The Guardian· 7 Aug 2026

One ambulance technician from Birmingham told the union working in the heat was "vile".

BBC News· 6 Aug 2026
This entry
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Frequent
Updated