evil (ˈiːvəll
)
Definitions
adjective
- morally wrong or bad; wicked ⇒
an evil ruler
- causing harm or injury; harmful ⇒
an evil plan
- marked or accompanied by misfortune; unlucky ⇒
an evil fate
- (of temper, disposition, etc) characterized by anger or spite
- not in high esteem; infamous ⇒
an evil reputation
- offensive or unpleasant ⇒
an evil smell
- slang good; excellent
noun
- the quality or an instance of being morally wrong; wickedness ⇒
the evils of war
- (sometimes capital) a force or power that brings about wickedness or harm ⇒
evil 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; badly ⇒
evil-smelling
Alternative Forms
ˈevilly adverb ˈevilness nounWord Origin
Old English yfel, of Germanic origin; compare Old Frisian evel, Old High German ubil evil, Old Irish adbal excessiveSynonyms
View thesaurus entry=
wicked,
bad,
wrong,
corrupt,
vicious,
vile,
malicious,
base,
immoral,
malignant,
sinful,
unholy,
malevolent,
heinous,
depraved,
villainous,
nefarious,
iniquitous,
reprobate,
maleficent,
=
harmful,
painful,
disastrous,
destructive,
dire,
catastrophic,
mischievous,
detrimental,
hurtful,
woeful,
pernicious,
ruinous,
sorrowful,
deleterious,
injurious,
baneful,
=
wickedness,
bad,
wrong,
vice,
corruption,
sin,
wrongdoing,
depravity,
immorality,
iniquity,
badness,
viciousness,
villainy,
sinfulness,
turpitude,
baseness,
malignity,
heinousness,
maleficence,
= act of cruelty
crime,
ill,
horror,
outrage,
cruelty,
brutality,
misfortune,
mischief,
affliction,
monstrosity,
abomination,
barbarity,
villainy,
Quotations
"So farewell hope, and with hope farewell fear,Farewell remorse: all good to me is lost;Evil be thou my Good"
"Evil be to him who evil thinks (Honi soit qui mal y pense)"
Motto of the Order of the Garter"What we call evil is simply ignorance bumping its head in the dark"
"The evil that men do lives after them"
"Evil alone has oil for every wheel"
"Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof"
Bible: St. Matthew"Choose the lesser of two evils"
"See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil"
Translations
- British English:
evil
If an act or a person is evil, they are morally very bad.Who's the most evil person in all of history?ˈiːvl ADJECTIVE Who's the most evil person in all of history?
- Spanish:
malvado
adj malvada
- French:
malveillant
adj
- German:
böse
adj
- Chinese: 邪恶的 adj
- Arabic: شَرِير adj
- Portuguese: mau adj má
- Russian: злой adj злая
- Croatian: zao adj zla
- Czech: zlý adj
- Danish: ond adj
- Dutch: duivels adj
- Finnish: paha adj
- Greek: μοχθηρός adj μοχθηρή
- Italian: malvagio adj malvagia
- Japanese: 悪い adj
- Korean: 사악한 adj
- Norwegian: ond adj
- Polish: zły adj zła
- Brazilian Portuguese: mau adj má
- European Spanish:
malvado
adj malvada
- Swedish: ond adj ont
- Thai: ชั่วร้าย adj
- Turkish: kötücül adj
- Vietnamese: ác adj
Usage examples
Most people will look at someone like you and they'll think you're evil.
, THE LAST TEMPTATION (2002)A man with a capacity for pure evil matched only by his animal resourcefulness.
Maxim (2004)In this case, the war on gin as a social evil in 18th-century England is equated to the ongoing war on drugs.
Globe and Mail (2003)The plot centres on a scam to provide human body organs that descend into the evil of inflicting gratuitous pain on victims.
Glasgow Herald (2001)It was like ice cracking on a pond after a long winter, an evil spell breaking.
, THE LADY AND THE UNICORN (2003)