social evil
Americannoun
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anything detrimental to a society or its citizens, as alcoholism, organized crime, etc.
Etymology
Origin of social evil
First recorded in 1855–60
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Dowry is a social evil and we are committed to ending it. I have directed all police stations to give proper help to any woman who approaches them," Mr Mishra told me.
From BBC • Jul. 3, 2023
“In the burning of Judas, social evil becomes laughable.”
From Seattle Times • Apr. 8, 2023
It’s the lack of acknowledgment that is the root of so much social evil.
From Washington Post • Nov. 14, 2019
There are clip-clop ole West numbers, solemn hymns of uplift and lamentation and sardonic Brechtian ditties of social evil.
From New York Times • Jun. 12, 2017
Divorce in any land is a social evil but in Egypt it is especially so, because the divorce laws are such that in a peculiar way woman is degraded by them.
From Our Moslem Sisters A Cry of Need from Lands of Darkness Interpreted by Those Who Heard It by Zwemer, Samuel Marinus
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
