insidious
Causing harm in a stealthy, often gradual, mannerCausing harm in a stealthy, often gradual, manner.
» It's a dangerous and insidious animal.
Це небезпечна та підступна тварина.
Meaning
3 sensesCausing harm in a stealthy, often gradual, manner.
heimtückisch, schleichend
кова́рныйkovárnyj, скры́тыйskrýtyj, хи́трыйxítryj
Intending to entrap; alluring but harmful.
Hansel and Gretel were lured by the witch’s insidious gingerbread house.
heimtückisch, hinterhältig, hinterlistig
кова́рныйkovárnyj
beguiling but harmful
(nonstandard)Treacherous.
The battle was lost due to the actions of insidious defectors.
Examples
12 sentencesIt's a dangerous and insidious animal.
Це небезпечна та підступна тварина.
This is a rare and insidious disease.
Це рідка й підступна хвороба.
deDiese Krankheit ist selten und tückisch.
What an insidious assumption!
Яке підступне припущення.
ruКакое коварное предположение!
Ziri came up with an insidious idea.
We are working against an enemy who is very insidious in his methods.
Translations
8 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 2
Origin
From Middle French insidieux, from Latin īnsidiōsus (“cunning, artful, deceitful”), from īFrom Middle French insidieux, from Latin īnsidiōsus (“cunning, artful, deceitful”), from īnsidiae (“a lying in wait, an ambush, artifice, stratagem”) + -ōsus, from īnsideō (“to sit in or on”), from in (“in, on”) + sedeō (“to sit”).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
more insidious, most insidious| Comparative | more insidious Lesson |
|---|---|
| Superlative | most insidious Lesson |
regular
Synonyms
49 synonyms- working or spreading in a hidden and usually injurious way:pernicioussubtle
Word family
3 related wordsLessons for this word
2 lessons- A2Comparatives — Because it has a comparative form
- A2Superlatives — Because it has a superlative form