insidious
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++LDOCE 5++in·sid·i·ous /ɪnˈsɪdiəs/ adjective formal BADan insidious change or problem spreads gradually without being noticed, and causes serious harm 〔变化或问题〕暗中为害的，不知不觉间加剧的 an insidious trend towards censorship of the press 实行新闻审查的潜在趋势 —insidiously adverb —insidiousness noun [uncountable]
Examples from the Corpus
insidious• A more insidious form of water pollution is chemicals used on farms that get into the water supply.Origin insidious (1500-1600) Latin insidiosus, from insidiae “attack from a hiding-place”, from insidere “to sit on, lie in wait”, from sedere “to sit”in·sid·i·ous adjectiveChineseSyllable
spreads change gradually insidious or Corpus an problem without
insidious
in‧sid‧i‧ous /ɪnˈsɪdiəs/
adjective formal
an insidious trend towards censorship of the press
—insidiously adverb
—insidiousness noun [uncountable]
in‧sid‧i‧ous /ɪnˈsɪdiəs/
adjective formal Date: 1500-1600
Language: Latin
Origin: insidiosus, from insidiae 'attack from a hiding-place', from insidere 'to sit on, lie in wait', from sedere 'to sit'
an insidious change or problem spreads gradually without being noticed, and causes serious harm:Language: Latin
Origin: insidiosus, from insidiae 'attack from a hiding-place', from insidere 'to sit on, lie in wait', from sedere 'to sit'
—insidiously adverb
—insidiousness noun [uncountable]