From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishperniciousper‧ni‧cious /pəˈnɪʃəs $ pər-/ adjective formal HARM/BE BAD FORvery harmful or evil, often in a way that you do not notice easily the pernicious effects of poverty the media’s pernicious influence► see thesaurus at harmful —perniciously adverb
Examples from the Corpus
pernicious• In addition, Roycayrol and Cattan studied fundic biopsy specimens of 18 totally achlorhydric patients, 12 of whom had pernicious anaemia.• Gastrin levels may also be elevated by pernicious anemia. duodenal ulcers, and after a meal.• In 1937, she had felt she had had enough of the pernicious course of human history.• How can a struggling organization escape this pernicious cycle of perpetual reaction and strife?• the pernicious effects of advertising• a pernicious lie• And how did this pernicious self-image arise?• We are so easily led to pernicious solutions.• Unfortunately in 1971 I was not protected from that most pernicious word by those inverted commas.Origin pernicious (1500-1600) French pernicieux, from Latin perniciosus, from pernicies “destruction”, from nex “violent death” 