Etymology
Origin of wickedness
Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at wicked, -ness
Explanation
Wickedness goes way past being naughty or mischievous; it means a quality of true evil. In an old spy movie, the villain might reveal his wickedness by cackling with delight while carrying out dastardly plans. A tyrant's cruel treatment of citizens is evidence of wickedness, while literary antagonists like Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth and Voldemort from the Harry Potter series display their wickedness through many vicious actions. Wickedness and wicked come from a now-obsolete adjective, wick, meaning "bad or false," and an Old English root it shares with wizard and witch.
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.
Playing a vain, pitch-perfect vision of Los Angeles’ wickedness in “Maps to the Stars,” Julianne Moore mothered so hard she almost separated California right down the San Andreas fault line.
From Salon • May 10, 2026
They all have a reason for the wickedness that they do.
From Slate • Jan. 20, 2026
I looked back on core memories in my life that I had viewed as me being an indication of my weakness, my wickedness, my deal with the devil, so to speak.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 3, 2024
"It's like playing Cluedo, but being live playing it, and the wickedness," she says.
From BBC • Mar. 23, 2024
Kingshaw thought, you should have been dead, you should have, it would be all right now, if you were dead, and then broke out into a cold sweat, at his own wickedness.
From "I'm the King of the Castle" by Susan Hill
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.
