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evil

[ee-vuhl] / ˈi vəl /




Usage

What are other ways to say evil?

Evil applies to that which violates or leads to the violation of moral law: evil practices. Ill now appears mainly in certain fixed expressions, with a milder implication than that in evil: ill will; ill-natured. Wicked implies willful and determined doing of what is very wrong: a wicked plan. Bad is the broadest and simplest term: a bad man; bad habits. 


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.

See Examples For:

The women who have these thoughts are not bad or evil.

From Slate Sep. 5, 2026

Source music plays an important part in Hitchcock’s depiction of evil.

From The Wall Street Journal Sep. 4, 2026

Curry was also known for his work as the evil clown Pennywise in the miniseries adaptation of Stephen King’s “It,” butler Wadsworth in “Clue” and the Lord of Darkness in “Legend.”

From Los Angeles Times Sep. 2, 2026

Former UN rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein described him as "the epitome of evil".

From Barron's Aug. 27, 2026

A horrible, huge orange face with an evil grin was staring directly at me.

From "The World According to Humphrey" by Betty G. Birney

Lafayette discreetly addressed these evils on his tour.

From The Wall Street Journal Sep. 4, 2026

And coming from the field of disinformation in particular, A.I. is a Pandora’s box of yet-to-be-imagined evils.

From Slate Aug. 26, 2026

A wary Tinseltown reluctantly lined up behind Netflix as the lesser of two evils, only to watch Paramount keep raising its bid until the streamer walked away in February.

From Barron's Jul. 20, 2026

Also, I am afraid your columns do not sufficiently extol the value of work, which Voltaire rightly claimed protects us from the evils of boredom, vice, and poverty.

From MarketWatch May 13, 2026

Once evils are recognized ahead of time, they may be easily cured; but if you wait for them to come upon you, the medicine will be too late, because the disease will have become incurable.

From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli




Vocabulary lists containing evil


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