English → Latin
“violent” in Latin
vehemēnsvery eager; impetuous, ardent, furious; vehement; emphaticgravisheavy; pregnant; troublesome, hardmagnusgreat, large, big; (of things) vast, extensive, spacious (of physical size or quantity); great, grand, mighty, noble, loācersharp, sour, bitter, pungent; keen, sharp, acute, sagacious; energetic, active, vigorousacerbusharsh, bitter, unripe, sour, premature, not yet marriageable; sharp, severe, bitter (i.e., extremely painful); rough, viconcitōto rush; to rouse up, agitate, move violently, stir up, excite, disturb; to spur, impel, inciteincitōto set in rapid motion, hasten, urge forwards, speed up, accelerate, quicken; to cause to grow larger; augment, increaseintendōto stretch out; to strain; to turn one's attention to, focus (on); to aim, turn, directrapidusmoving so violently as to seize and carry along anything in its path; violently quick, swift, rapid (esp. of animals sucviolentusforcible, violent, vehement; impetuous; boisterous
The English word violent itself goes back to Latin vīs, through violentus.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
violent
vehemens (the proper word; opposed to lenis, placidus: PROP., of persons, then also of things): gravis (that strongly affects the sense or feelings; e.g., morbus; odor; verbum; adversarius): magnus (great): acer (sharp). (The words are found in this connection and order.) acer et vehemens: vehemens aceique (opposed to placidus mollisque): acerbus (that occasions pain): concitatus: incitatus: intentus (in haste): rapidus (rapid, in haste): violentus (that acts forcibly): atrox (that causes fear or terror): ardens: flagrans (burning; of fervor and passion): iracundus (irritable): impotens (unable to restrain himself; also of things: homo, rabies, etc.). (The words are found in this connection and order.) ferox impotensque: ferox et impotens: importunus (rough, wild, harsh, etc.; tyrannus, libidines, etc.). To put one’s self into a more violent passion, in impotentiorem rabiem accensum esse (Liv.): violent rain, imber magnus or maximus: a violent wind, ventus vehemens or magnus: violent desire, cupiditas magna or acris, ardens or flagrans: a man of violent disposition, vir or homo vehementis, or violenti ingenii; homo iracundus: to die a violent death, manum or mortem sibi inferre; suapte manu se interficere (to lay violent hands on one’s self; Vid: “to commit SUICIDE”); vis alicui affertur (by another): a violent interpretation, *interpretatio contorta: to give a violent interpretation to a passage, *vim adhibere alicui loco: to use violent means [Vid: “to apply VIOLENCE”]: “in a violent manner, vi; per vim.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for violent?
- The usual Latin words for “violent” are vehemēns, gravis, magnus; also ācer, acerbus, concitō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.