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

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IS and ARE are both forms of which verb?

have

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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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use evil in a sentence

Kidman and Grant, veteran actors who both played deliciously evil “Paddington” villains, are the obvious draw.
The real star of ‘The Undoing’? Nicole Kidman’s eyeballs.|Bethonie Butler|November 30, 2020|Washington Post
Poisonous mushrooms actually look evil, though, an offer of good faith from Mother Nature.
Mushroom Hunting at the End of the World|Danny Palumbo|November 12, 2020|Eater
Imagining “such a team of evil geniuses,” Saulson says, “became laughable.”
Why you don’t really know what you know|Katie McLean|October 21, 2020|MIT Technology Review
Mackey says that business isn’t evil, but that it should change toward this model because it creates immense value in society.
Whole Foods’ CEO on how business can be better than just “a bunch of selfish greedy bastards”|McKenna Moore|October 6, 2020|Fortune

As Walter’s enemies grew in stature, the evils he committed to take them down grew in stature, too.
Saturday Night Live will not save you|Emily VanDerWerff|October 2, 2020|Vox
Ah Sing, smiling evilly, searched the face of his victim for an expression of fear or pain.
The Argus Pheasant|John Charles Beecham
To evilly disposed men membership in the Klan was an inducement to wrongdoing.
The Modern Ku Klux Klan|Henry Peck Fry
He seemed now to have but two objects in life, to be possessed of two burning desires which dwelt in him evilly like demons.
Court Beauties of Old Whitehall|W. R. H. Trowbridge
Newt's eyes blazed evilly at the words, but he only clamped his mouth tighter.
The Code of the Mountains|Charles Neville Buck
It became bloated with a poisonous wrath, his eyes gleamed evilly and his muscles tensed.
'Drag' Harlan|Charles Alden Seltzer

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 related to evil

How to use evil in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for evil

Derived forms of evil

Word Origin for evil