axis of evil

British

noun

North Korea, Iraq, and Iran when considered together as a perceived threat to world stability

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of axis of evil

C21: coined by George W Bush, 43rd US President

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.

“A Working Man” molds the Levon character to Statham, making him a British soldier and tilting the book’s axis of evil away from “ ‘Merica good, everyone else bad.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2025

The last piece that Bolton would like to fill in his own axis of evil, and the one that has no doubt vexed him the most, is North Korea.

From Slate • May 8, 2019

“Everyone is trying to make some kind of axis of evil out of us, just because we’re a great sporting power,” Mutko said.

From Washington Post • Dec. 4, 2017

“On the only direct criticism of the son, in which President Bush 41 said things like the axis of evil weren’t helpful, 43 said: ‘Well, my rhetoric could get pretty hot at times.’

From The Guardian • Nov. 7, 2015

Predictions for 2013 The big story People to watch Remember that infamous phrase "axis of evil"?

From BBC • Dec. 28, 2012

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023