evil

[ee-vuhl]

See more synonyms for evil on Thesaurus.com

adjective

morally wrong or bad; immoral; wicked: evil deeds; an evil life.
harmful; injurious: evil laws.
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

that which is evil; evil quality, intention, or conduct: to choose the lesser of two evils.
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

in an evil manner; badly; ill: It went evil with him.

Idioms

the evil one, the devil; Satan.

Origin of evil

before 900; Middle English evel, evil, Old English yfel; cognate with Gothic ubils, Old High German ubil, German übel, Old Frisian, Middle Dutch evel

Related formse·vil·ly, adverbe·vil·ness, nounnon·e·vil, adjectivenon·e·vil·ly, adverbnon·e·vil·ness, nounqua·si-e·vil, adjectivequa·si-e·vil·ly, adverbun·e·vil, adjectiveun·e·vil·ly, adverb

Synonyms for evil

See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com

1. sinful, iniquitous, depraved, vicious, corrupt, base, vile, nefarious. 2. pernicious, destructive. 6. wickedness, depravity, iniquity, unrighteousness, corruption, baseness. 9. disaster, calamity, woe, misery, suffering, sorrow.

Synonym study

1. See bad¹.

Antonyms for evil

1. righteous.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for evil

unpleasant, destructive, hateful, vile, malicious, vicious, heinous, ugly, bad, nefarious, villainous, corrupt, malevolent, hideous, wicked, harm, pain, catastrophe, calamity, ill

Examples from the Web for evil

Contemporary Examples of evil

But along with the cartoon funk is an all-too-real story of police brutality embodied by a horde of evil Pigs.
‘Black Dynamite’ Presents Police Brutality: The Musical
Stereo Williams
January 9, 2015
One wonders if his subsequent battles with the “Evil Empire” were animated by this belief.
The Evangelical Apocalypse Is All Your Fault
Jay Michaelson
January 4, 2015
Luke Skywalker is an evil robot who has fallen to the dark side of the force.
Juiciest ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Rumors (and Some Debunked Ones)
Rich Goldstein
January 3, 2015
It is all too easy to be despondent in the face of what seems like the endless capacity of evil to reinvent itself.
The Catholic Philosopher Who Took on Hitler
John Henry Crosby
December 26, 2014
The teachers union looms large in this book, often as an evil force.
Your Local School Doesn’t Have to Suck
Michael S. Roth
December 17, 2014

Historical Examples of evil

"His countenance and his voice troubled me, like the presence of evil," answered Philothea.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
The best doctrines become the worst, when they are used for evil purposes.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
I should be b-a-d, and I should sit up nights to invent new ways of evil.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
From evil—physical, moral, and political—it is not our claim to be exempt.
United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches
Various
But the evil has come with the good, and much fine gold has been corroded.
United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches
Various

British Dictionary definitions for evil

evil

adjective

morally wrong or bad; wickedan evil ruler
causing harm or injury; harmfulan evil plan
marked or accompanied by misfortune; unluckyan evil fate
(of temper, disposition, etc) characterized by anger or spite
not in high esteem; infamousan evil reputation
offensive or unpleasantan evil smell
slang good; excellent

noun

the quality or an instance of being morally wrong; wickednessthe evils of war
(sometimes capital) a force or power that brings about wickedness or harmevil is strong in the world
archaic an illness or disease, esp scrofula (the king's evil)

adverb

(now usually in combination) in an evil manner; badlyevil-smelling

Derived Formsevilly, adverbevilness, noun

Word Origin for evil

Old English yfel, of Germanic origin; compare Old Frisian evel, Old High German ubil evil, Old Irish adbal excessive

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

Word Origin and History for evil

adj.

Old English yfel (Kentish evel) "bad, vicious, ill, wicked," from Proto-Germanic *ubilaz (cf. Old Saxon ubil, Old Frisian and Middle Dutch evel, Dutch euvel, Old High German ubil, German übel, Gothic ubils), from PIE *upelo-, from root *wap- (cf. Hittite huwapp- "evil").

"In OE., as in all the other early Teut. langs., exc. Scandinavian, this word is the most comprehensive adjectival expression of disapproval, dislike or disparagement" [OED]. Evil was the word the Anglo-Saxons used where we would use bad, cruel, unskillful, defective (adj.), or harm, crime, misfortune, disease (n.). The meaning "extreme moral wickedness" was in Old English, but did not become the main sense until 18c. Related: Evilly. Evil eye (Latin oculus malus) was Old English eage yfel. Evilchild is attested as an English surname from 13c.

Old English yfel (see evil (adj.)).