evil

[ ee-vuhl ]

/ ˈi vəl /

|||

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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

evidence, evident, evidential, 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.

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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 evilly

He laughed at this—but evilly, and no further word could I get out of either of them.
A Frontier Mystery|Bertram Mitford
How evilly could Life desert a man and kill him with loneliness.
The Duchess of Wrexe|Hugh Walpole
Seeing himself so evilly entreated, Ulenspiegel played him different tricks and this among them.
The Legend of Ulenspiegel|Charles de Coster
There is no reason why children should be taught to look on step-mothers in general as evilly disposed persons.
The Moral Instruction of Children|Felix Adler

The damsel was evilly clad in rags, and seemed like a scullion-maid.
King Arthur's Knights|Henry Gilbert

British Dictionary definitions for evilly

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

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

adjective

noun

adverb

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of evil

SYNONYMS FOR evil

ANTONYMS FOR evil

Related forms

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for evilly

British Dictionary definitions for evilly

evil

adjective

noun

adverb

Derived Forms

Word Origin for evil