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
“In the burning of Judas, social evil becomes laughable.”
From Seattle Times • Apr. 8, 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
Such men are by no means as rare as the sensational reports of the social evil lead many people to believe.
From Sex-education A series of lectures concerning knowledge of sex in its relation to human life by Bigelow, Maurice Alpheus
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.
