pernicious

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The feisty heroine is Iris Hawkins, who, in the course of a tentative love affair with a nerdy engineer named Geoffrey Hale, discovers the pernicious designs of a secret order.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026

High borrowing costs, he said, have had a pernicious impact on lower-income consumers without producing clear gains in inflation.

From Barron's • Jan. 26, 2026

A similarly pernicious logic has insulated law enforcement from legal accountability for generations.

From Slate • Jan. 25, 2026

But if you use them as a lifestyle crutch, they can be pernicious.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 21, 2026

California searches vehicles for vegetables and fruits which might carry pernicious insects and diseases, and regulations of these are enforced with almost religious intensity.

From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck