evil

[ ee-vuhl ]

/ ˈi vəl /

|||

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.

Nearby words

evident, evidential, evidentially, evidentiary, evidently, evil, evil eye, evil one, evil twin, evil-minded, evildoer

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

SYNONYMS 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 MORE SYNONYMS FOR evil ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR evil

1 righteous.

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Related forms

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

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

Synonym study

1. See bad¹.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for 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|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
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|DAILY BEAST

But remember “Potter,” the evil banker played by Lionel Barrymore?
Congress’ Gift That Keeps on Giving|P. J. O’Rourke|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Evil is devised against you—evil you are powerless now to resist.
Pabo, The Priest|Sabine Baring-Gould
For a long time cats were dreaded by the people because they thought human beings had been changed to that form by evil means.
The Book of Hallowe'en|Ruth Edna Kelley
"She sure does get into evil ways, sometimes," added Jim, laughingly.
Five Little Starrs in the Canadian Forest|Lillian Elizabeth Roy
Many say that the use of opium is no evil, but those who say that have never known India, or else they are blind.
Letters of a Javanese Princess|Raden Adjeng Kartini
And in the book it said, "It can be maintained that the evil of pride consists in being out of proportion to the universe."
Tremendous Trifles|G. K. Chesterton

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 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 (1 of 2)

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.

Word Origin and History for evil (1 of 2)

evil

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

evil

adjective

noun

adverb

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Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of evil

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for evil

British Dictionary definitions for evil

evil

adjective

noun

adverb

Word Origin for evil

Word Origin and History for evil (1 of 2)

evil

Word Origin and History for evil (1 of 2)

evil