social evil
Americannoun
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anything detrimental to a society or its citizens, as alcoholism, organized crime, etc.
Etymology
Origin of social evil
First recorded in 1855–60
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"He agreed that it was a social evil," she told me, adding that it made her think that he was different from the others she had met so far.
From BBC • Jul. 3, 2023
“These child marriages have become a social evil and as a result the mortality rates have been quite high,” he said.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 16, 2023
It’s the lack of acknowledgment that is the root of so much social evil.
From Washington Post • Nov. 14, 2019
There are clip-clop ole West numbers, solemn hymns of uplift and lamentation and sardonic Brechtian ditties of social evil.
From New York Times • Jun. 12, 2017
They allow no compromise with this social evil.
From A Discourse on the Evils of Dancing by Mesick, John F.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
