From Middle English wicked, wikked, an alteration of Middle English wicke, wikke (“morally perverse, evil, wicked”). Of uncertain origin. Possibly from an adjectival use of Old English wiċċa (“wizard, sorcerer”), from Proto-West Germanic *wikkō (“necromancer, sorcerer”), though the phonology makes this theory difficult to explain. Alternatively, perhaps related to English wicker, Old Norse víkja (“to bend to, yield, turn, move”), Swedish vika (“to bend, fold, give way to”), English weak. The "excellent, awesome" sense is an ameliorative semantic shift from the original sense of "evil, mischievous". Compare similar semantic development in terrific and sick.
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Evil or mischievous by nature; morally reprehensible.
Genuine cowards follow wicked people and cannot reliably sustain any virtue.
The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bolde as a lyon.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Proverbs 28:1:
3 more examples
“Yes,” replied she; “and the saddest part of it all is that she is not marrying the man she loves. Oh, it is terrible. Marrying from a sense of duty! I think it is perfectly wicked, and I told her so.”1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 101:
‘[…] I remember a lady coming to inspect St. Mary's Home where I was brought up and seeing us all in our lovely Elizabethan uniforms we were so proud of, and bursting into tears all over us because “it was wicked to dress us like charity children”.[…]’.1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 6, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
What a wicked game to play, to make me feel this way / What a wicked thing to do, to let me dream of you / What a wicked thing to say, you never felt this way1989, Chris Isaak, “Wicked Game”, in Heart Shaped World:
The Artemis II astronauts sent back descriptions of the total solar eclipse they viewed from space to NASA's Mission Control. "It’s truly hard to describe. It is amazing," pilot Victor Glover said. Glover said that the Orion spacecraft was made as dark as possible due to every bit of light in the cabin affecting the view. "It’s a wicked view," he said of the darkened moon with deep space behind it.2026 April 6, Mary Kekatos, Julia Jacobo, Leah Sarnoff, Ivan Pereira, quoting Victor Glover, “'Absolutely spectacular, surreal': Astronauts describe solar eclipse”, in ABC News, retrieved 06 Apr 2026:
From Middle English wicked, wikked, an alteration of Middle English wicke, wikke (“morally perverse, evil, wicked”). Of uncertain origin. Possibly from an adjectival use of Old English wiċċa (“wizard, sorcerer”), from Proto-West Germanic *wikkō (“necromancer, sorcerer”), though the phonology makes this theory difficult to explain. Alternatively, perhaps related to English wicker, Old Norse víkja (“to bend to, yield, turn, move”), Swedish vika (“to bend, fold, give way to”), English weak. The "excellent, awesome" sense is an ameliorative semantic shift from the original sense of "evil, mischievous". Compare similar semantic development in terrific and sick.
1
Boston, Scotland, Archaic, Especially, Slang, In Lancashire To a superlative extent, very, extremely
I didn't really wanna go see On Golden Pond with the fam, but my mom made me go, and I must say that in retrospect it was a wicked expressive film, with a lot of significant meaning.
The band we went to see the other night was pissah, and they were wicked loud!
1 more example
James: It looks like you're wearing earrings also. Those are really something. Those aren't too heavy, are they? / Sonia: No, they're actually, like, wicked light.2025, Love On the Spectrum, season 3, episode 3, James and Sonia (actors):
wicked
noun
Etymology
From Middle English wicked, wikked, an alteration of Middle English wicke, wikke (“morally perverse, evil, wicked”). Of uncertain origin. Possibly from an adjectival use of Old English wiċċa (“wizard, sorcerer”), from Proto-West Germanic *wikkō (“necromancer, sorcerer”), though the phonology makes this theory difficult to explain. Alternatively, perhaps related to English wicker, Old Norse víkja (“to bend to, yield, turn, move”), Swedish vika (“to bend, fold, give way to”), English weak. The "excellent, awesome" sense is an ameliorative semantic shift from the original sense of "evil, mischievous". Compare similar semantic development in terrific and sick.
1
Wicked (evil) people collectively.
And goodness knows the wicked's lives are lonely / Goodness knows the wicked die alone2024, Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Wicked Movie Cast, “No One Mourns the Wicked”, in Wicked: The Soundtrack, performed by Ariana grande:
wicked
adj
AU, CA, US, UK /wɪkt/ · NZ /wəkt/
Etymology See wick.
1
Having a wick.
a two-wicked lamp
Up went Moggy, with her thick-wicked kitchen candle, to seek repose; […]1863, Sheridan Le Fanu, The House by the Churchyard: