evil

[ ee-vuhl ]

/ ˈi vəl /

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See synonyms for: evil / evils / evilly / evilness on Thesaurus.com

adjective

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

harmful; detrimental: 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.

OTHER WORDS FOR evil

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.

See synonyms for evil on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR evil

1 righteous.

See antonyms for evil on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms about evil

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

OTHER WORDS FROM evil

e·vil·ly, adverbe·vil·ness, nounnon·e·vil, adjectivenon·e·vil·ly, adverb

non·e·vil·ness, nounquasi-evil, adjectivequa·si-e·vil·ly, adverbun·e·vil, adjectiveun·e·vil·ly, adverb

Words nearby evil

evidence, evident, evidential, evidentiary, evidently, evil, evildoer, evil eye, evil-minded, Evil One, evil twin

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

WHEN TO USE

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.

How to use evil in a sentence

For anaerobic life, which does not use oxygen, “phosphine is not so evil,” Sousa-Silva says.
Phosphine gas found in Venus’ atmosphere may be ‘a possible sign of life’|Lisa Grossman|September 14, 2020|Science News
Quasimodo has been brought up by an evil politician who’s confined him his entire life within the borders of the Notre Dame Cathedral.
Toward a queer Disney canon|Emily VanDerWerff|September 4, 2020|Vox
With a series of toy models, the researchers calculated that the biased cosmic ray particles were ever-so-slightly more likely to knock an electron loose from a “live” helix than from an “evil” one, an event that theoretically causes mutations.
Cosmic Rays May Explain Life’s Bias for Right-Handed DNA|Charlie Wood|June 29, 2020|Quanta Magazine
A world of women is a world of people, still, with full human capacity for good or evil.
After The Plague: Lauren Beukes’ New Book Is About A World Without Men|LGBTQ-Editor|May 4, 2020|No Straight News

The pursuit of a favorable credit score to secure commercial loans for our cars and homes has been viewed as a necessary evil.
High credit scores aren’t exactly what you think. Here’s the truth.|Truthbetold|March 3, 2020|TruthBeTold.news
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|DAILY BEAST
Or has the see and hear and speak-no-evil stance of the Republican House persuaded him that he is in the clear?
The Price of Steve Scalise’s Silence|Jason Berry|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
The skateboarder is as irredeemably evil as the others are noble.
The 2014 Novel of the Year|Nathaniel Rich|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He alludes to it as one of their evil customs and used by them to produce insensibility.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
The Majesty on high has a colony and a people on earth, which otherwise is under the supremacy of the Evil One.
Solomon and Solomonic Literature|Moncure Daniel Conway
Good is set against evil, and life against death: so also is the sinner against a just man.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
All felt strangely as if something evil had crept into their lives, and their excitement was great.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux
We dismounted, and speedily found that MacRae hadn't exaggerated the evil qualities of that descent.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair

British Dictionary definitions for evil

evil

/ (ˈiːvəl) /

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 forms of evil

evilly, 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

evil

OTHER WORDS FOR evil

OPPOSITES FOR evil

Idioms about evil

Origin of evil

OTHER WORDS FROM evil

Words nearby evil

WHEN TO USE

What are other ways to say evil?

Words related to evil

How to use evil in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for evil

Derived forms of evil

Word Origin for evil