What does wicked mean?

Crazy, awesome, wild, insane, etc.

There are two meanings I think of when I hear the word wicked depending on the context. The first one is something evil (like the wicked witch). The second is more of a slang for something that was awesome or outrageous (like “that was so wicked” talking about a trick a snowboarder just performed).

Wicked means evil. So, killing someone would be wicked.

I agree with Seaofclouds. Could be the witch under the house, could be wicked fast.

@Adirondackwannabe Could the wicked witch be wicked fast on her wicked broom?

@rojo She’d by the wicked triple threat.

Wicked good as in chocolate truffles!

It means bad except when it means good unless you use bad to mean good too in which case it still means bad.

Adjective; evil: He regretted his wicked deeds.
Noun; an evil person: No rest for the wicked.
Adjective; awesome: He performed a wicked 360 on the half-pipe.
Adverb; very (this may be local lingo in my area, not sure): Don’t get near that snake; their venom is wicked dangerous.
Verb, past tense; to pull a fluid by capilary action: The wet-to-dry dressing wicked the drainage from the wound.

Edit: Damn, reread your details, weren’t really looking for definitions, were you? I’d say a “wicked” action is one that is intentionally malevolent; knowingly causing harm. Unless you’re going by one of the other definitions above.

“Wicked” has etymological connections to the world of witchcraft, and still carries some of its original sense of being aligned with the forces of evil.

It has become synonymous with “evil”, but “evil” was originally used to describe that which is not-good, so it applied to anything that caused harm or violated moral principles, or was unskillful. In that sense, one could perform an evil deed without being a generally bad person. But someone who is wicked has adopted such actions as their general way of life. It described not isolated actions, but one’s overall propensity for causing harm.

These are subtleties that have pretty much been lost in modern usage, though.

Primarily, for me wicked is more something forbidden than something truly bad. “You wicked girl.” It means it’s something you may not approve of, but also something that is probably fun, at least for the person doing it. It might be used in sex play when you are pretending someone is bad, or you might use it when someone steals a cookie or does something else forbidden but is not really that bad.

I do not think murder is wicked. Murder is wrong. Immoral. But not wicked.

Wicked is also used in New England as an intensifier. “That is wicked fast!”

As all New Englanders know, it is a synonym for absolutely, as in wicked good slippers.

It’s the principle governing the use of candles and fired lanterns.

That’s wicked cool.
That’s really cool

Dude, that shit’s wicked.
Dude that shit’s insanely awesome/out of control/cool

Wicked witch of the west
really awful witch of the west

By the pricking of my thumbs

@thorninmud Ah, cool. I was just gonna say evil/deceptive/wtv, until I read that. It’s interesting though, now I get that whole thing in Sleepy Hollow, about Katrina always asking Ichabod, was it wicked of me? I thought, beyond the obvious reasons why she asks, they were just tryna be hawt. They prolly were, but still…so being wicked would kinda like being lawful evil in D&D, whether or not someone gives you orders; you’re conscious and willing of your evil acts, rather than just doing what you think is best/appropriate/wtv.

Wicked is also used as a slang for something incredibly amazing/awesome/wicked.

Language professionals do you feel it is a disservice to the orginal meaning of the word wicked to slang it into such an ambiguous meaning? Shouldn’t good be called good and evil be called evil or wicked? Don’t these kind of radical makeovers of words “twist” the language for new citizens and generally cloud intent?

Far out, @smilingheart1. That’s groovy.

There’s only one that can truly answer that. She hasn’t yet arrived…