Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Extremely wicked, villainous, or criminal: Describes a person, action, or crime that is shockingly evil, deeply sinful, or outrageously atrocious.
   • Morally reprehensible or abominable: Characterizes something as profoundly offensive to moral standards.

Usage and Examples

• Adjective:
  • The historian described the tyrant's flagitious reign, marked by widespread torture and executions.
  • The court sought to punish the flagitious act of treason against the crown.
  • His flagitious behavior shocked even his most cynical associates.

Advanced Usage

• Literary/Formal Context: The term is primarily used in formal, literary, or historical contexts to emphasize the depth of evil or criminality. It is not common in everyday conversation.
  • The novel's antagonist was guilty of flagitious deeds that haunted the protagonist.

Variants and Related Words

• Flagitiousness (noun): The state or quality of being flagitious.
  • The flagitiousness of the plot was undeniable.

Synonyms

• Heinous: Utterly odious or wicked.
• Atrocious: Extremely wicked, brutal, or cruel.
• Monstrous: Shockingly evil or unjust.
• Villainous: Pertaining to or characteristic of a villain.
• Nefarious: Wicked or criminal.

Antonyms

• Virtuous: Having high moral standards.
• Righteous: Morally right or justifiable.
• Noble: Having fine personal qualities or high moral principles.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• While there are no common idioms using "flagitious" itself, the concept is often expressed in phrases like:
  • A crime against humanity: Used for acts of a flagitious nature on a large scale.
  • Depths of depravity: Describes a state of extreme moral corruption.

Adjective

1. shockingly brutal or cruel
   • murder is an atrocious crime
   • a grievous offense against morality
   • a grievous crime
   • no excess was too monstrous for them to commit
2. extremely wicked, deeply criminal
   • a flagitious crime
   • heinous accusations