wicked
The Jamaican word for amazing is wicked.
The term wicked is used to describe something possessing uniquely wonderful qualities. It is frequently used to describe music, food or a person's skills in a highly positive way.
Meaning: possessing uniquely wonderful qualities (adj)
Which one should you use?
In Standard English, wicked usually means evil or morally wrong, but in Jamaican Patois it is used as a positive intensifier meaning amazing or excellent.
Did you know?
- In Jamaican Patois, the word wicked can be intensified by adding tun up, meaning something is so amazing it has reached a peak level of intensity.
- Depending on the tone and context, saying wicked with a specific downward inflection can shift the meaning back to something genuinely negative or sinister.
- Using wicked to mean amazing is a hallmark of Jamaican youth slang that has heavily influenced urban dialects in the UK and Canada.
Examples in context
- Aweh! Yuh si di likkle pikni dance? It bad!Wow! Did you see that kid dance? It's amazing!
- Di party last night was madd! Di vibes did sweet!The party last night was amazing! The vibes were great!
- Mi affi big up di chef, di food taste good!I have to give props to the chef, the food tastes great!
- Di concert did hot like fyah, everybody did a enjoy demself!The concert was amazing, everyone was having a great time!
- Mi love di vibes pon di beach, it wicked!I love the atmosphere on the beach, it's amazing!
- Di food taste wicked!The food tastes amazing!
- She sing a wicked song.She sang an amazing song.
- Dat movie did wicked.That movie was amazing.
Example conversation
Shanice and Damion are talking about a concert they attended.
- ShaniceDamion, di concert did wicked!Damion, the concert was amazing!
- DamionYeah man, di music wicked.Yeah man, the music was amazing.
- ShaniceMi neva see nuttin so wicked before.I have never seen anything so amazing before.
- DamionTrue, it did feel wicked.True, it felt amazing.
