e·vil

(ē′vəl)

adj. e·vil·er, e·vil·est

1. Morally bad or wrong; wicked: an evil tyrant.

2. Causing ruin, injury, or pain; harmful: the evil effects of a poor diet.

3. Characterized by or indicating future misfortune; ominous: evil omens.

4. Bad or blameworthy by report; infamous: an evil reputation.

5. Characterized by anger or spite; malicious: an evil temper.

1. The quality of being morally bad or wrong; wickedness.

2. That which causes harm, misfortune, or destruction: a leader's power to do both good and evil.

3. An evil force, power, or personification.

4. Something that is a cause or source of suffering, injury, or destruction: the social evils of poverty and injustice.

adv. Archaic

In an evil manner.

[Middle English, from Old English yfel; see wap- in Indo-European roots.]

e′vil·ly adv.

e′vil·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

evilness - the quality of being morally wrong in principle or practice; "attempts to explain the origin of evil in the world"

evil

malevolency, malice, malevolence - the quality of threatening evil

malignance, malignancy, malignity - quality of being disposed to evil; intense ill will

balefulness, maleficence, mischief - the quality or nature of being harmful or evil

immorality - the quality of not being in accord with standards of right or good conduct; "the immorality of basing the defense of the West on the threat of mutual assured destruction"

worst - the greatest damage or wickedness of which one is capable; "the invaders did their worst"; "so pure of heart that his worst is another man's best"

nefariousness, vileness, ugliness, wickedness - the quality of being wicked

reprehensibility - being reprehensible; worthy of and deserving reprehension or reproof

villainousness, villainy - the quality of evil by virtue of villainous behavior

perverseness, perversity - deliberately deviating from what is good; "there will always be a few people who, through macho perversity, gain satisfaction from bullying and terrorism"

wrongdoing, error - departure from what is ethically acceptable

vice, frailty - moral weakness

good, goodness - moral excellence or admirableness; "there is much good to be found in people"

Translations

شَر

ondskab

Boshaftigkeit Bosheit

pahuus

méchanceté

illgirni

kötü niyetlilikkötülük

罪恶邪恶

evil

(ˈiːvl) adjective

very bad; wicked; sinful. evil intentions; an evil man; He looks evil; evil deeds; an evil tongue.

noun

1. wrong-doing, harm or wickedness. He tries to ignore all the evil in the world; Do not speak evil of anyone.

2. anything evil, eg crime, misfortune etc. London in the eighteenth century was a place of crime, filth, poverty and other evils.

evil-

evil-minded; evil-smelling.

ˈevilly adverb

ˈevilness noun

ˌevil-ˈdoer noun

a wicked or sinful person.

Mentioned in

References in periodicals archive

The Kingdom's judiciary is independent, fair and apparent and doesn't work with evilness, meanness and sedition or in secrecy as is the case for the regime of Iran.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia expresses its categorical rejection of Iranian aggressive statements criticizing the legal rulings carried out against terrorists

At one point he ice-creamed a small girl as a threat to those who didn't take his evilness seriously.

Cinderella at Gala Theatre Durham proves a must-see panto for all the family; Cinderella has all the right touches and plenty of humour to delight panto goers of all ages, writes Ed Waugh

For that reason, we are not as positive about the nuclear agreement as Obama envisages us to be, because we are sure that it will only stimulate the evilness of the Iranian regime.

Iran's threatening posture

We are going to fight tooth and nail until we put an end to the evilness of Sam Brownback and other monsters like him.

Damn, Sam reaction of a Kansas activist

Following the horrific mass murders May 23 in Santa Barbara, California--a crime perpetrated by a man who had posted racist rants, (1) tried to push fellow students off a ledge, (2) claimed that women rejecting him provoked his violence, (3) and claimed that the world is "bleak and cruel...due [to] the evilness of women" (4)--one popular leftist blogger claimed on Facebook that the crime was among the "consequences" of "a society that values every man for himself over the greater good." (5)

Leftists shamefully exploit California murders on behalf of collectivism

"Extant'' makes effective use of familiar storytelling tropes: the evilness of big business and science gone awry in an atmosphere of growing danger.

Berry takes on role of pregnant astronaut

Consequently, the veil of decency started getting revealed from the horrifying countenance of the evilness the big powers had been carrying since October 1945 onward.

Insurgence of regional organizations

Bilawal said that his grandfather Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto had made release of 70,000 Pakistani army troops possible from Indian jails but elders said well that 'Jis par Ahsan karo us ke shar se daro' [be afraid of evilness from those whom you have endowed to].

Pakistan not property of any 'Mullah' or 'player': Bilawal

Bilawal said that his grand father Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto had made release of 70,000 Pakistani army troops possible from Indian jails but elders said well that 'Jis par Ahsan karo us ke shar se daro' [be afraid of evilness from those whom you have endowed to].

Pakistan not property of any 'Mullah' or 'player': Bilawal

"You served your country against the evilness and wickedness of the death dealers and you stood against British imperialists."

A SHOW OF STRENGTH.. HUNDREDS GATHER FOR RY YAN MEMORIAL Huge Garda presence in cemetery

The musical is titled "Al Sayidah" (The Lady), and will tell the story of Carole's life, by stirring up the emotions of its audience through feelings of happiness, sadness and evilness.

Carole Samaha injures back, musical debut could be postponed!