mark of the beast

American  

noun

1. (in the Bible) a physical mark placed on those who worship the Antichrist and are in opposition to God.

2. something taken to be a sign of evil, corruption, or infamy.

   The way he talks about the uselessness of politics, you'd think that voting in a national election was the mark of the beast.

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Etymology

Origin of mark of the beast

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English

Example Sentences

"Surely not, please your Majesty," said Heriot; "I were not wise to bring any thing to your presence that had the mark of the beast."

From The Fortunes of Nigel by Scott, Walter, Sir

This store which men and women set on pleasure and pain, Prendick, is the mark of the beast upon them,—the mark of the beast from which they came!

From The Island of Doctor Moreau by Wells, H. G. (Herbert George)

It became plainer, as she 132 remembered other men upon whom the mark of the beast was unmistakably set.

From Masters of the Wheat-Lands by Bindloss, Harold

Surely Mr. Lilly does not hold that the disbelief in spontaneity—which term, if it has any meaning at all, means uncaused action—is a mark of the beast Materialism?

From Essays Upon Some Controverted Questions by Huxley, Thomas H.

He was still a forester, bred in the bone—loving these forest depths with an ardor too deep for words—but the mark of the beast was gone from his flesh.

From The Sky Line of Spruce by Marshall, Edison