evil
Americanadjective
-
morally wrong or bad; immoral; wicked.
evil deeds;
an evil life.
- Antonyms:
- righteous
-
evil laws.
- Synonyms:
- destructive, pernicious
-
characterized or accompanied by misfortune or suffering; unfortunate; disastrous.
to be fallen on evil days.
-
due to actual or imputed bad conduct or character.
an evil reputation.
-
marked by anger, irritability, irascibility, etc..
He is known for his evil disposition.
noun
-
evils
plural
-
that which is evil; evil quality, intention, or conduct.
to choose the lesser of two evils.
- Synonyms:
- baseness, corruption, unrighteousness, iniquity, depravity, wickedness
-
the force in nature that governs and gives rise to wickedness and sin.
-
the wicked or immoral part of someone or something.
The evil in his nature has destroyed the good.
-
harm; mischief; misfortune.
to wish one evil.
-
anything causing injury or harm.
Tobacco is considered by some to be an evil.
-
a harmful aspect, effect, or consequence.
the evils of alcohol.
-
a disease, as king's evil.
adverb
idioms
adjective
-
morally wrong or bad; wicked
an evil ruler
-
causing harm or injury; harmful
an evil plan
-
marked or accompanied by misfortune; unlucky
an evil fate
-
(of temper, disposition, etc) characterized by anger or spite
-
not in high esteem; infamous
an evil reputation
-
offensive or unpleasant
an evil smell
-
slang good; excellent
noun
-
the quality or an instance of being morally wrong; wickedness
the evils of war
-
(sometimes capital) a force or power that brings about wickedness or harm
evil is strong in the world
-
archaic an illness or disease, esp scrofula (the king's evil )
adverb
Usage
What are other ways to say evil?
A person or thing that is evil is morally wrong. How does evil differ from bad, wicked, and ill? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
evilnessnoun
-
nonevilnessnoun
-
noneviladjective
-
quasi-eviladjective
-
uneviladjective
-
evillyadverb
-
nonevillyadverb
-
quasi-evillyadverb
-
unevillyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of evil
First recorded before 900; Middle English evel, evil, Old English yfel; cognate with Gothic ubils, Old High German ubil, German übel, Old Frisian, Middle Dutch evel
Explanation
Evil is the opposite of good. We usually think of villains as evil — wrong, immoral and nasty on many levels — and heroes as good. This word is often reserved for our most terrible crimes and criminals: Adolf Hitler is usually the face of evil in history, while Voldemort is that face in recent literature. Evil can be less extreme, meaning simply anything that brings harm; we can talk about the evils of alcohol or the evils of power. When both major candidates for President seem lame, people often say they're choosing between the lesser of two evils. Not all evils are equally evil.
Vocabulary lists containing evil
Bush's Address on 9/11
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"Frankenstein" and "How Frankenstein Began"
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"The Flying Machine" by Ray Bradbury
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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.
See Examples For:
She's cast out by the community, who look on her as a symbol of evil and bad luck.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
James and Lou, a young married couple, leave Chicago for London to escape the evil haunting them, but they discover that it has followed them abroad.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
Currently residing in the Further, Elise explains that Cyrus and his cronies plan to unleash their evil in the land of the living.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Al-Zaydi described Luka as an "evil genius" and "a fox of a man".
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
“It’s very evil stuff they’ve got there,” McCone said.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
A wary Tinseltown reluctantly lined up behind Netflix as the lesser of two evils, only to watch Paramount keep raising its bid until the streamer walked away.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
He notes that “complaints about the evils of consumerism have long been a staple among intellectuals, but I see evil only in its excesses.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 2026
Also, I am afraid your columns do not sufficiently extol the value of work, which Voltaire rightly claimed protects us from the evils of boredom, vice, and poverty.
From MarketWatch ● May 13, 2026
At its peak, there were over 6,000 Shakers, joining Ann in rebuking the gruesome, incalculable evils of war and preaching moral generosity.
From Salon ● Dec. 27, 2025
Of two evils, she chose the one that struck her as the lesser.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
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.
