What does "evil" mean?
Moral badness; wickedness; malevolence; the forces or behaviors that are the opposite or enemy of good.
Evil
/ˈiː.vəl/ adj, adv, noun, slang
adj, adv, noun, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Moral badness; wickedness; malevolence; the forces or behaviors that are the opposite or enemy of good.
- Grammar: evil is listed as adj, adv, noun, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: wickedness, abandoned, aberrant, abnormal.
- Useful contrasts: angelic, benign, good.
- Usage evidence: Competition is not by nature evil.
How to use "evil"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "evil" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "evil" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "evil" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "evil" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "evil" is acting as adj, adv, noun, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "wickedness" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "evil", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Moral badness; wickedness; malevolence; the forces or behaviors that are the opposite or enemy of good. countable, uncountable
"The evils of society include murder and theft."
- 2 morally objectionable behavior wordnet
- 3 Something which impairs the happiness of a being or deprives a being of any good; something which causes suffering of any kind to sentient beings; harm; injury; mischief. countable, uncountable
"evils which our own misdeeds have wrought"
- 4 the quality of being morally wrong in principle or practice wordnet
- 5 A malady or disease; especially in combination, as in king's evil, colt evil. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"[The disease]Tis call'd the Euill."
Adjective
- 1 Intending to harm; malevolent.
"an evil plot to brainwash and even kill innocent people"
- 2 Morally corrupt.
"If something is evil, it is never mandatory."
- 3 Unpleasant, foul (of odor, taste, mood, weather, etc.).
"1660, John Harding (translator), Paracelsus his Archidoxis, London: W.S., Book 7, “Of an Odoriferous Specifick,” p. 100, An Odoriferous Specifick […] is a Matter that takes away Diseases from the Sick, no otherwise then as Civet drives away the stinck of Ordure by its Odour; for you are to observe, That the Specifick doth permix it self with this evil Odour of the Dung; and the stink of the Dung cannot hurt, no[r] abide there […]"
- 4 Producing or threatening sorrow, distress, injury, or calamity; unpropitious; calamitous.
"The owl shrieked at thy birth,—an evil sign;"
- 5 Having harmful qualities; not good; worthless or deleterious. obsolete
"an evil beast; an evil plant; an evil crop"
Show 1 more definition
- 6 Undesirable; harmful; bad practice. slang
"Global variables are evil; storing processing context in object member variables allows those objects to be reused in a much more flexible way."
Adjective
- 1 having or exerting a malignant influence wordnet
- 2 morally bad or wrong wordnet
- 3 having the nature of vice wordnet
Adverb
- 1 wickedly, evilly, iniquitously obsolete
"O what of Gods then boots it to be borne, / If old Aveugles ſonnes ſo euill heare?"
- 2 injuriously, harmfully; in a damaging way. obsolete
"And many ſhall follow their pernicious wayes, by reaſon of whom the way of trueth ſhall be euill ſpoken of:"
- 3 badly, poorly; in an insufficient way. obsolete
"It went evil with him."
Antonyms
Example
"Competition is not by nature evil."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "evil"?
Common synonyms include: wickedness, abandoned, aberrant, abnormal, abominable, abomination.
How do you use "evil" in a sentence?
Competition is not by nature evil.
How do you pronounce "evil"?
Pronounced /ˈiː.vəl/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English yvel, evel, ivel, uvel, from Old English yfel, from Proto-West Germanic *ubil, from Proto-Germanic *ubilaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂up(h₁)élos, a deverbal derivative of *h₂wep(h₁)-, *h₂wop(h₁)- (“treat badly”). See -le for the supposed suffix. Alternatively from *upélos (“evil”, literally “going over or beyond (acceptable limits)”), from Proto-Indo-European *upo, *h₃ewp- (“down, up, over”). Cognates Cognate with Dutch euvel (“evil”), German übel (“bad, evil”), German Low German övel (“evil”), Luxembourgish iwwel (“queasy, nauseous; bad”), Gothic 𐌿𐌱𐌹𐌻𐍃 (ubils, “bad, evil”). Compare Old Irish fel (“bad, evil”), from Proto-Celtic *uɸelos, and Hittite 𒄷𒉿𒀊𒍣 (huwapp-ⁱ, “to mistreat, harass”), 𒄷𒉿𒀊𒉺𒀸 (huwappa-, “evil, badness”).
Etymology 2
From Middle English yvel, evel, ivel, uvel, from Old English yfele (“badly, evilly”), a derivative of the adjective yfel (“bad, evil”). Often reinterpreted as the noun in the later language (as in "to speak evil").