Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Deeply malicious or profoundly deceitful: Describes a person's character, heart, or intentions as being profoundly and cunningly wicked, often hiding true malevolence behind a facade.
   • Profoundly insidious: Refers to schemes, plots, or actions that are deeply and treacherously harmful.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Hắn ta là một kẻ thâm thiểm, luôn lập kế hoạch hại người sau lưng. (He is a deeply malicious person, always planning to harm others behind their backs.)
  • Âm mưu của chúng thật thâm thiểm và khó lường. (Their plot is profoundly insidious and unpredictable.)
  • Đừng tin anh ta, bề ngoài tử tế nhưng tâm địa rất thâm thiểm. (Don't trust him; he seems kind on the outside but has a deeply deceitful heart.)

Advanced Usage

• The word is almost exclusively used to describe a severe, hidden negative quality in a person's nature or in a plan. It implies a depth of cunning and danger that is not immediately apparent.

Variants and Related Words

• Thâm độc (adj): Malicious, venomous. A close synonym, though thâm thiểm often emphasizes a deeper, more hidden cunning.
  • Lời nói của cô ấy ngọt ngào nhưng thâm độc. (Her words are sweet but venomous.)

Synonyms

• Malicious: Intending to do harm.
• Deceitful: Guilty of or involving deceit; deceiving or misleading others.
• Insidious: Proceeding in a gradual, subtle way, but with harmful effects.
• Treacherous: Guilty of or involving betrayal or deception.

Related Idioms

• Lòng dạ thâm thiểm: A "thâm thiểm" heart or mind.

  • Kẻ phản bội thường có lòng dạ thâm thiểm. (Traitors often have a profoundly deceitful heart.)

• Thủ đoạn thâm thiểm: "Thâm thiểm" tactics or tricks.

  • Hắn dùng những thủ đoạn thâm thiểm để leo lên vị trí đó. (He used deeply insidious tactics to climb to that position.)