virulent
A virulent disease is one that's infectious, spreading, and making lots of people sick, while a virulent rant is just a verbal attack, causing sickness of the emotional kind. Either way, something virulent puts a strain on the people who get it.
Two meanings come out of the roots for virulent: "poisonous" and "spiteful." The virus-carrying meaning of virulent often gets combined with strain, such as in a "virulent strain of the flu." Those who aren’t carrying disease but are still considered virulent most likely lash out at others with a biting tone. Unleashing acid-tongued words on someone would be considered a virulent attack.
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extremely poisonous or injurious; producing venom
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infectious; having the ability to cause diseasesynonyms:highly infective(of a microorganism) extremely infectivedeadly(of a disease) having a rapid course and violent effectantonyms:avirulentnot virulent; unable to produce disease
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harsh or corrosive in tonesynonyms: acerb, acerbic, acid, acrid, astringent, bitter, blistering, caustic, sulfurous, sulphurous, vitriolicunpleasantdisagreeable to the senses, to the mind, or feelings
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Vocabulary lists containing virulent
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