evil

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Related to eviler: evilly, evilest

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.

evil

(ˈiːvəl)

adj

1. morally wrong or bad; wicked: an evil ruler.

2. causing harm or injury; harmful: an evil plan.

3. marked or accompanied by misfortune; unlucky: an evil fate.

4. (of temper, disposition, etc) characterized by anger or spite

5. not in high esteem; infamous: an evil reputation.

6. offensive or unpleasant: an evil smell.

7. slang good; excellent

8. the quality or an instance of being morally wrong; wickedness: the evils of war.

9. (sometimes capital) a force or power that brings about wickedness or harm: evil is strong in the world.

10. (Pathology) archaic an illness or disease, esp scrofula (the king's evil)

adv

(now usually in combination) in an evil manner; badly: evil-smelling.

[Old English yfel, of Germanic origin; compare Old Frisian evel, Old High German ubil evil, Old Irish adbal excessive]

ˈevilly adv

ˈevilness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

e•vil

(ˈi vəl)

adj.

1. morally wrong or bad; immoral; wicked: evil deeds; an evil life.

2. harmful; injurious: evil laws.

3. characterized or accompanied by misfortune or suffering; unfortunate; disastrous: to fall on evil days.

4. due to actual or imputed bad conduct or character: an evil reputation.

5. marked by anger, irritability, irascibility, etc.: an evil disposition.

6. something evil; evil quality, intention, or conduct: to choose the lesser of two evils.

7. the force in nature that governs and gives rise to wickedness and sin.

8. the wicked or immoral part of someone or something.

9. harm; mischief; misfortune: to wish one evil.

10. anything causing injury or harm.

11. a disease, as king's evil.

adv.

12. in an evil manner; badly; ill: It went evil with him.

Idioms:

the evil one, the devil; Satan.

[before 900; Old English yfel; c. Old Saxon, Old High German ubil, Gothic ubils]

e′vil•ly, adv.

e′vil•ness, n.

Evil

See Also: ACTION, CRUELTY

All sin is a kind of lying —St. Augustine
At first the evil impulse is as fragile as the thread of a spider, but eventually it becomes as tough as cart ropes —Babylonian Talmud
Bad as a rotten potato —Charlotte Brontë
Corruption is like a ball of snow, when once set a roll, it must increase —Charles Caleb Colton
The Devil … like influenza he walks abroad —W. H. Auden
Evil actions like crushed rotten eggs, stink in the nostrils of all —Bartlett’s Dictionary of Americanisms
Evil … a quality some people are born with, like a harelip —Ross Macdonald
Evil as dynamiting trout —Robert Traver
Evil enters like a needle and spreads like an oak tree —Ethiopian proverb
Evil, like parental punishment, is not intended for itself —Josepiz Albo
Evils in the journey of life are like the hills which alarm travelers on the road. Both appear great at a distance, but when we approach them we find they are far less insurmountable than we had conceived —Charles Caleb Colton
Evils, like poisons, have their uses, and there are diseases which no other remedy can reach —Thomas Paine
He’s like a fox, grey before he’s good —Thomas Fuller
Immorality in a house is like a worm in a plant —Babylonian Talmud
Immoral, like plying an alcoholic with liquor —Anon
Obscene as cancer —Wilfred Owens
Our sins, like our shadows when day is in its glory, scarce appear; toward evening, how great and monstrous they are! —Sir John Suckling
(He is a man of splendid abilities, but utterly corrupt. He shines and stinks like rotten mackerel by moonlight —John Randolph
Sin is a sort of bog; the farther you go in the more swampy it gets —Maxim Gorky
Sins black as night —Robert Lowell
So awful [a crime] it was like an atrocity picture or one of Foxe’s lives of the martyrs —Jonathan Valin
(You’re) soft and slimy … like an octopus. Like a quagmire —Jean-Paul Sartre
Vice is like a skunk that smells awfully rank, when stirred up by the pole of misfortune —Bartlett’s Dictionary of Americanisms
Vice, like virtue, grows in small steps —Jean Racine
Vice repeated is like the wandering wind, Blows dust in others’ eyes, to spread itself —William Shakespeare
Wrong as stealing from the poor box —Anon

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	evil - morally objectionable behavior wickedness, immorality, iniquity evildoing, transgression - the act of transgressing; the violation of a law or a duty or moral principle; "the boy was punished for the transgressions of his father" devilry, deviltry - wicked and cruel behavior foul play - unfair or dishonest behavior (especially involving violence) irreverence, violation - a disrespectful act sexual immorality - the evil ascribed to sexual acts that violate social conventions; "sexual immorality is the major reason for last year's record number of abortions"
	2.	evil - that which causes harm or destruction or misfortune; "the evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones"- Shakespeare bad, badness - that which is below standard or expectations as of ethics or decency; "take the bad with the good" Four Horsemen - (New Testament) the four evils that will come at the end of the world: conquest rides a white horse; war a red horse; famine a black horse; plague a pale horse
	3.	evil - the quality of being morally wrong in principle or practice; "attempts to explain the origin of evil in the world" evilness 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"
Adj.	1.	evil - morally bad or wrong; "evil purposes"; "an evil influence"; "evil deeds" bad - having undesirable or negative qualities; "a bad report card"; "his sloppy appearance made a bad impression"; "a bad little boy"; "clothes in bad shape"; "a bad cut"; "bad luck"; "the news was very bad"; "the reviews were bad"; "the pay is bad"; "it was a bad light for reading"; "the movie was a bad choice" immoral - deliberately violating accepted principles of right and wrong offensive - unpleasant or disgusting especially to the senses; "offensive odors" wrong - contrary to conscience or morality or law; "it is wrong for the rich to take advantage of the poor"; "cheating is wrong"; "it is wrong to lie" unrighteous - not righteous; "an unrighteous man"; "an unrighteous law" wicked - morally bad in principle or practice good - morally admirable
	2.	evil - having the nature of vice vicious wicked - morally bad in principle or practice
	3.	evil - having or exerting a malignant influence; "malevolent stars"; "a malefic force" malefic, malevolent, malign maleficent - harmful or evil in intent or effect

evil

noun

1. wickedness, bad, wrong, vice, corruption, sin, wrongdoing, depravity, immorality, iniquity, badness, viciousness, villainy, sinfulness, turpitude, baseness, malignity, heinousness, maleficence We are being attacked by the forces of evil.

2. harm, suffering, pain, hurt, misery, sorrow, woe those who see television as the root of all evil

3. act of cruelty, crime, ill, horror, outrage, cruelty, brutality, misfortune, mischief, affliction, monstrosity, abomination, barbarity, villainy Racism is one of the greatest evils in the world.

adjective

1. wicked, bad, wrong, corrupt, vicious, vile, malicious, base, immoral, malignant, sinful, unholy, malevolent, heinous, depraved, villainous, nefarious, iniquitous, reprobate, maleficent the country's most evil criminals

2. harmful, painful, disastrous, destructive, dire, catastrophic, mischievous, detrimental, hurtful, woeful, pernicious, ruinous, sorrowful, deleterious, injurious, baneful (archaic) Few people would not condemn slavery as evil.

3. demonic, satanic, diabolical, hellish, devilish, infernal, fiendish This place is said to be haunted by an evil spirit.

4. offensive, nasty, foul, unpleasant, vile, noxious, disagreeable, putrid, pestilential, mephitic There was an evil stench in the room.

5. unfortunate, unlucky, unfavourable, ruinous, calamitous, inauspicious people of honour who happen to have fallen upon evil times

Quotations
"So farewell hope, and with hope farewell fear,"
"Farewell remorse: all good to me is lost;"
"Evil be thou my Good" [John Milton Paradise Lost]
"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" [Henry Ford]
"The evil that men do lives after them" [William Shakespeare Julius Caesar]
"Evil alone has oil for every wheel" [Edna St. Vincent Millay Mine the Harvest]
"Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof" Bible: St. Matthew

Proverbs
"Choose the lesser of two evils"
"See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil"

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

evil

adjective

1. Morally objectionable:

bad, black, immoral, iniquitous, peccant, reprobate, sinful, vicious, wicked, wrong.

2. Causing harm or injury:

bad, deleterious, detrimental, harmful, hurtful, ill, injurious, mischievous.

3. Bringing, predicting, or characterized by misfortune:

bad, ill, inauspicious, unfavorable, unpropitious.

4. Characterized by intense ill will or spite:

black, despiteful, hateful, malevolent, malicious, malign, malignant, mean, nasty, poisonous, spiteful, venomous, vicious, wicked.

Slang: bitchy.

noun

1. That which is morally bad or objectionable:

iniquity, peccancy, sin, wickedness, wrong.

2. A wicked act or wicked behavior:

crime, deviltry, diablerie, evildoing, immorality, iniquity, misdeed, offense, peccancy, sin, wickedness, wrong, wrongdoing.

3. Whatever is destructive or harmful:

bad, badness, ill.

4. A cause of suffering or harm:

affliction, bane, curse, ill, plague, scourge, woe.

Translations

سوء، شَرشَر، سوءشِرّير، سَيِّءشَرِير

zlý

ondondskabondskabsfuld

böse Übel

κακός μοχθηρός

malo malvado mal maldad plaga

paha

mal mauvais scélérat vice malin

zao

e-î illt; mein, bölmein, bölvondur, illur

malvagio malvagit...cattivo male

悪い

사악한

blogisblogybėnedorainedorumasnusidėjėlis

ļaunsļaunumsnelaimesliktssliktums

зло злой лихой нечистый

hudobenzlo

ond

ชั่วร้าย

ahlâksızçok kötüfelâketfenalıkkötücül

ác

邪恶的不幸弊病罪恶邪恶

evil

[ˈiːvl]

A. ADJ

1. (= wicked) [person, deed, thought] → malvado; [reputation] → de malvado; [spirit] → maligno, maléfico; [influence] → maléfico, funesto; [place, plan] → diabólico; [hour, times] → funesto; [effect] → nocivo
to put the evil eye on sb, give sb the evil eye → echar el mal de ojo a algn
an evil spell → un maleficio
evil tongues may say that → las malas lenguas dirán que ...
he had his evil way with her → se aprovechó de ella, se la llevó al huerto (hum)
the evil weed (= tobacco) → el vicio (hum)

2. (= nasty) [smell, taste] → horrible
to put off the evil day → posponer el día funesto
to have an evil temper → tener un genio endiablado

B. N

1. (= wickedness) → mal m
the conflict between good and evil → el conflicto entre el bien y el mal
there wasn't a trace of evil in her → no había ni un rastro del maldad en ella
the forces of evil → las fuerzas del mal
to speak evil of sb → hablar mal de algn

2. (= harmful thing) → mal m
the lesser of two evils → el menor de dos males
a necessary evil → un mal necesario
social evils → males mpl sociales

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

evil

[ˈiːv^əl]

adj (= wicked) [person] → malveillant(e); [thing] → mauvais(e)
to put off the evil hour, to put off the evil day → retarder l'échéance fatidique

(= bad things) → mal m

(= bad aspect, feature)
one of the evils of modern society → l'un des fléaux de la société moderne
the evils of alcohol → les dangers de l'alcool
a necessary evil → un mal nécessaire
the lesser evil → le moindre mal
the lesser of two evils → le moindre malevil-smelling [ˈiːv^əlsmɛlɪŋ] adj → nauséabond(e)evil spirit n → esprit m malfaisant

evil

→ Böse(s) nt; good and evil in Victorian England → das Gute und das Böse im viktorianischen England; the conflict between good and evil → der Kampf zwischen Gut und Böse; there was never any trace of evil in her → an ihr war nie etwas Böses; the evil in the universe → das Übel in der Welt; to wish somebody no evil → jdm nichts Böses wünschen; to speak evil of somebody → schlecht von jdm reden

(= bad thing or activity) → Übel nt; a necessary evil → ein notwendiges Übel; the lesser/greater of two evils → das kleinere/größere Übel; social evils → soziale Missstände pl; a sermon on the evils of drink → eine Predigt über das Laster des Trinkens

adj

(= bad, wicked) person, tongue → böse; example, influence, reputation → schlecht; evil deed → Übeltat f; the country’s most evil terrorists → die schlimmsten Terroristen des Landes; with evil intent → mit or aus böser Absicht; the evil weed (hum: = tobacco) → das Kraut (inf); (= smoking) → das Rauchen; to put off the evil day/moment → den schrecklichen Tag/Augenblick hinauszögern

(= devilish) spirit, spell, power → böse; place → verhext

(= unpleasant) smell, taste → übel

evil

evildoer

n → Übeltäter(in) m(f), → Bösewicht m (dated)

evil eye

n the evil → der böse Blick; to give somebody the evil → jdn mit dem bösen Blick ansehen

evil

evil-minded

adj → bösartig

evil-smelling

adj → übel riechend

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

evil

[ˈiːvl]

1. n → male m
the lesser of two evils → il minore tra due mali

2. adj (person, deed) → malvagio/a, cattivo/a; (reputation, influence) → pessimo/a; (spirit, spell, influence) → malvagio/a; (unhappy, hour, times) → infausto/a

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.

evil

→ شَرِير zlý ond böse μοχθηρός malvado paha malveillant zao malvagio 悪い 사악한 boosaardig ond zły mau злой ond ชั่วร้าย kötücül ác 邪恶的

evil

n. maldad;

a. malo-a, maligno-a.

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

The Preacher found life and the works of life all a vanity and vexation, an evil thing; but death, the ceasing to be able to be vain and vexed, he found an eviler thing.

View in context

"Man must become better and eviler"--so do I teach.

View in context

'Why do we compete so much it becomes less healthy and eviler, what exactly is the point to all the killings?