wickedly

IPA/ˈwɪkɪdli/
KK[wˈɪkɪdli]IPA/ˈwɪkɪdli/

wickedly — adverb

1. used before an adjective to add strong emphasis, meaning 'to an extreme or extra

1.adverbB2
Definition

used before an adjective to add strong emphasis, meaning 'to an extreme or extraordinary degree' — like 'very' but with more force and a hint of admiration or alarm

Example

Bao found the final exam wickedly difficult despite weeks of preparation.

wickedly + adjective: informal intensifier, like 'extremely'

The August heat in Mumbai was wickedly intense that year.

Common collocations
  • wickedly difficult
  • wickedly expensive
  • wickedly fast
  • wickedly clever
Synonyms
  • extremely

    the neutral, standard intensifier; lacks the informal, impressed tone of 'wickedly'

  • incredibly

    similarly informal and emphatic, but without the edgy or admiring flavour

  • ridiculously

    stronger than 'wickedly'; suggests something is so extreme it makes no sense

Antonyms
  • slightly

    to a small degree, the opposite of extreme intensity

Grammar Patterns

wickedly + adjective

Usage Note

Only used before adjectives, never before verbs. Common in spoken British English. The tone is informal and often carries a note of impressed surprise — something is not just 'very X' but so X it is almost daunting.

Common Mistakes

She danced wickedly at the party.' (intended as 'extremely well')
She danced incredibly well at the party.
this sense must directly modify an adjective; it cannot stand alone as an intensifier for a verb.

2. doing something a little bit wrong, unhealthy, or cheeky, but in a charming or f

2.adverbB2
Definition

doing something a little bit wrong, unhealthy, or cheeky, but in a charming or funny way that other people find appealing rather than upsetting

Example

Mizuki wickedly ordered the largest slice of chocolate cake for herself.

wickedly + verb describing a small, pleasurable transgression

Sophia gave her brother a wickedly clever smile before revealing the surprise.

Common collocations
  • smile wickedly
  • grin wickedly
  • laugh wickedly
  • wickedly funny
Synonyms
  • mischievously

    similar playful naughtiness, but without the 'attractive' implication

  • naughtily

    more childish; often used for children's minor misbehaviour

  • cheekily

    emphasises boldness and impudence rather than charm

Antonyms
  • innocently

    without any wrongdoing or guilty awareness

Grammar Patterns

wickedly + verb

wickedly + adjective

Usage Note

Frequently used with verbs of expression (smile, grin, laugh) and minor rule-breaking (skip, sneak, hide). The subject is almost always a person; the action is never truly harmful.

Common Mistakes

The criminal wickedly smiled at the jury.
The criminal smirked at the jury.
sense 2 is for charming, attractive badness; a defendant's smile in court is not playful or endearing.

3. acting with cruel or evil intentions — doing real harm on purpose, without conce

3.adverbB2
Definition

acting with cruel or evil intentions — doing real harm on purpose, without concern for right and wrong

Example

Eitan wickedly spread rumours that ended his neighbour's ten-year marriage.

wickedly + verb for acting with deliberate evil intent

Anjali discovered her business partner had wickedly emptied their shared bank account.

Common collocations
  • act wickedly
  • behave wickedly
  • wickedly cruel
Synonyms
  • evilly

    suggests deep, almost supernatural moral corruption; less common in everyday speech

  • maliciously

    focuses on the deliberate desire to cause harm, often in a targeted or calculated way

  • cruelly

    stresses causing suffering and being indifferent to that suffering

  • viciously

    adds an element of aggression or physical violence

Antonyms
  • kindly

    acting with care and goodwill

  • virtuously

    acting according to high moral standards

Grammar Patterns

wickedly + verb

Usage Note

This is the original, literal sense of the word — it describes actions that involve genuine moral wrongdoing, not minor mischief. Distinguish from sense 2, which is for playful or charming naughtiness.

Common Mistakes

He wickedly ate the last biscuit.' (for a minor, playful act)
He mischievously ate the last biscuit.
sense 3 describes real moral evil; for playful naughtiness, use sense 2 or a word like 'mischievously.'

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adverb/3

These four words all describe acting with harmful intent, but each has a distinct flavour. Wickedly is the broadest term — it covers everything from small cruelties to great evils and carries the strongest moral judgement. Evilly suggests a deep, almost supernatural corruption and is the least common in everyday conversation. Maliciously narrows the focus to deliberate, targeted harm: someone spreading malicious gossip wants a specific person to suffer. Cruelly emphasises the infliction of pain and the cold indifference behind it — a cruel remark cuts deep. Viciously adds aggression and physical force to the mix; a vicious dog bite is savage in a way that a wicked act may not be. Use wickedly for general moral wrongdoing, maliciously when the harm is calculated and personal, cruelly when suffering is central, and viciously when violence or ferocity is involved.

evilly ↗maliciously ↗cruelly ↗viciously ↗

Common collocations

Adverbs

  • rather wickedly
  • quite wickedly
  • most wickedly

Phrases

  • wickedly so

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Formed from the adjective wicked (morally bad, evil) combined with the adverb suffix -ly. The root wicked goes back to Old English wicca, meaning a wizard or witch — someone believed to practise dark magic. Over centuries, the word shed its supernatural associations and came to describe any morally wrong act or person. The playful sense (sense 2) emerged much later, softening the original severity into something mischievous and charming. The informal intensifier use (sense 1) is a 20th-century development, likely influenced by the idea that something extreme is almost sinfully so.