Adjacent Words

Evil definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

E'VIL, a. e'vl. [Heb. to be unjust or injurious, to defraud.]
1. Having bad qualities of a natural kind; mischievous; having qualities which tend to injury, or to produce mischief.
Some evil beast hath devoured him. Genesis 37.
2. Having bad qualities of a moral kind; wicked; corrupt; perverse; wrong; as evil thoughts; evil deeds; evil speaking; an evil generation.
3. Unfortunate; unhappy; producing sorrow, distress, injury or calamity; as evil tidings; evil arrows; evil days.
E'VIL, n. Evil is natural or moral. Natural evil is any thing which produces pain, distress, loss or calamity, or which in any way disturbs the peace, impairs the happiness, or destroys the perfection of natural beings.
Moral evil is any deviation of a moral agent from the rules of conduct prescribed to him by God, or by legitimate human authority; or it is any violation of the plain principles of justice and rectitude.
There are also evils called civil, which affect injuriously the peace or prosperity of a city or state; and political evils, which injure a nation, in its public capacity.
All wickedness, all crimes, all violations of law and right are moral evils. Diseases are natural evils, but they often proceed from moral evils.
2. Misfortune; mischief; injury.
There shall no evil befall thee. Psalms 91.
A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself. Proverbs 22.
3. Depravity; corruption of heart, or disposition to commit wickedness; malignity.
The heart of the sons of men is full of evil. Ecclesiastes 9.
4. Malady; as the king's evil or scrophula.
E'VIL, adv. [generally contracted to ill.]
1. Not well; not with justice or propriety; unsuitable.
Evil it beseems thee.
2. Not virtuously; not innocently.
3. Not happily; unfortunately.
It went evil with his house.
4. Injuriously; not kindly.
The Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us.
In composition, evil, denoting something bad or wrong, is often contracted to ill.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: morally bad or wrong; "evil purposes"; "an evil influence"; "evil deeds" [ant: good]
2: having the nature of vice [syn: evil, vicious]
3: having or exerting a malignant influence; "malevolent stars"; "a malefic force" [syn: malefic, malevolent, malign, evil] n
1: morally objectionable behavior [syn: evil, immorality, wickedness, iniquity]
2: 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
3: the quality of being morally wrong in principle or practice; "attempts to explain the origin of evil in the world" [syn: evil, evilness] [ant: good, goodness]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective (eviler or eviller; evilest or evillest) Etymology: Middle English, from Old English yfel; akin to Old High German ubil evil Date: before 12th century 1. a. morally reprehensible ; sinful, wicked <an evil impulse> b. arising from actual or imputed bad character or conduct <a person of evil reputation> 2. a. archaic inferior b. causing discomfort or repulsion ; offensive <an evil odor> c. disagreeable <woke late and in an evil temper> 3. a. causing harm ; pernicious <the evil institution of slavery> b. marked by misfortune ; unlucky • evil adverb, archaic • evilly adverb • evilness noun II. noun Date: before 12th century 1. a. the fact of suffering, misfortune, and wrongdoing b. a cosmic evil force 2. something that brings sorrow, distress, or calamity

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. 1 morally bad; wicked. 2 harmful or tending to harm, esp. intentionally or characteristically. 3 disagreeable or unpleasant (has an evil temper). 4 unlucky; causing misfortune (evil days). --n. 1 an evil thing; an instance of something evil. 2 evil quality; wickedness, harm. Phrases and idioms: evil eye a gaze or stare superstitiously believed to be able to cause material harm. speak evil of slander. Derivatives: evilly adv. evilness n. Etymology: OE yfel f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Aleppo boil A*lep"po boil, button button, or evil evil . (Med.) A chronic skin affection terminating in an ulcer, most commonly of the face. It is endemic along the Mediterranean, and is probably due to a specific bacillus. Called also Aleppo ulcer, Biskara boil, Delhi boil, Oriental sore, etc.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Evil E"vil ([=e]"v'l) n. 1. Anything which impairs the happiness of a being or deprives a being of any good; anything which causes suffering of any kind to sentient beings; injury; mischief; harm; -- opposed to good. Evils which our own misdeeds have wrought. --Milton. The evil that men do lives after them. --Shak. 2. Moral badness, or the deviation of a moral being from the principles of virtue imposed by conscience, or by the will of the Supreme Being, or by the principles of a lawful human authority; disposition to do wrong; moral offence; wickedness; depravity. The heart of the sons of men is full of evil. --Eccl. ix. 3. 3. malady or disease; especially in the phrase king's evil, the scrofula. [R.] --Shak. He [Edward the Confessor] was the first that touched for the evil. --Addison.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Evil E*vila. [OE. evel, evil, ifel, uvel, AS. yfel; akin to OFries, evel, D. euvel, OS. & OHG. ubil, G. ["u]bel, Goth. ubils, and perh. to E. over.] 1. Having qualities tending to injury and mischief; having a nature or properties which tend to badness; mischievous; not good; worthless or deleterious; poor; as, an evil beast; and evil plant; an evil crop. A good tree can not bring forth evil fruit. --Matt. vii. 18. 2. Having or exhibiting bad moral qualities; morally corrupt; wicked; wrong; vicious; as, evil conduct, thoughts, heart, words, and the like. Ah, what a sign it is of evil life, When death's approach is seen so terrible. --Shak. 3. Producing or threatening sorrow, distress, injury, or calamity; unpropitious; calamitous; as, evil tidings; evil arrows; evil days. Because he hath brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel. --Deut. xxii. 19. The owl shrieked at thy birth -- an evil sign. --Shak. Evil news rides post, while good news baits. --Milton. Evil eye, an eye which inflicts injury by some magical or fascinating influence. It is still believed by the ignorant and superstitious that some persons have the supernatural power of injuring by a look. It almost led him to believe in the evil eye. --J. H. Newman. Evil speaking, speaking ill of others; calumny; censoriousness. The evil one, the Devil; Satan. Note: Evil is sometimes written as the first part of a compound (with or without a hyphen). In many cases the compounding need not be insisted on. Examples: Evil doer or evildoer, evil speaking or evil-speaking, evil worker, evil wishing, evil-hearted, evil-minded. Syn: Mischieveous; pernicious; injurious; hurtful; destructive; wicked; sinful; bad; corrupt; perverse; wrong; vicious; calamitous.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Evil E"vil, adv. In an evil manner; not well; ill; badly; unhappily; injuriously; unkindly. --Shak. It went evil with his house. --1 Chron. vii. 23. The Egyptians evil entreated us, and affected us. --Deut. xxvi. 6.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(evils) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. Evil is a powerful force that some people believe to exist, and which causes wicked and bad things to happen. There's always a conflict between good and evil in his plays. ? good 2. Evil is used to refer to all the wicked and bad things that happen in the world. He could not, after all, stop all the evil in the world. 3. If you refer to an evil, you mean a very unpleasant or harmful situation or activity. Higher taxes may be a necessary evil. ...a lecture on the evils of alcohol. N-COUNT 4. If you describe someone as evil, you mean that they are very wicked by nature and take pleasure in doing things that harm other people. ...the country's most evil terrorists... She's an evil woman. ADJ 5. If you describe something as evil, you mean that you think it causes a great deal of harm to people and is morally bad. After 1760 few Americans refrained from condemning slavery as evil... ADJ 6. If you describe something as evil, you mean that you think it is influenced by the devil. I think this is an evil spirit at work... ADJ 7. You can describe a very unpleasant smell as evil. Both men were smoking evil-smelling pipes. ADJ 8. If someone is putting off the evil day or the evil hour, they have to do something unpleasant and are trying to avoid doing it for as long as possible. You can simply go on putting off the evil day and eventually find yourself smoking as much as ever. PHRASE: usu v PHR 9. If you have two choices, but think that they are both bad, you can describe the one which is less bad as the lesser of two evils, or the lesser evil. People voted for him as the lesser of two evils... PHRASE

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ev'-'-l, e'-vil ra`; poneros, @kakos, @kakon:

In the Bible it is represented as moral and physical. We choose to discuss the subject under these heads. Many of the evils that come upon men have not been intended by those who suffer for them. Disease, individual and national calamity, drought, scarcity of food, may not always be charged to the account of intentional wrong. Many times the innocent suffer with, and even for, the guilty. In such cases, only physical evil is apparent. Even when the suffering has been occasioned by sin or dereliction of duty, whether the wrong is active or passive, many, perhaps the majority of those who are injured, are not accountable in any way for the ills which come upon them. Neither is God the author of moral evil. "God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempteth no man" (Jas 1:13).

See TEMPTATION.

1. Moral Evil:

By this term we refer to wrongs done to our fellowman, where the actor is responsible for the action. The immorality may be present when the action is not possible. "But if that evil servant shall say in his heart" (Mt 24:48,49), whether he shall smite his fellow-servants or not, the moral evil is present. See SIN. "All these evil things proceed from within, and defile the man" (Mr 7:21-23). The last six commandments of the Decalogue apply here (Ex 20:12-17). To dishonor one's parents, to kill, to commit adultery, to steal, to bear false witness and to covet are moral evils. The spiritual import of these commandments will be found in Mt 5:21,22,27,28. "But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness" (Mt 6:23). Words and deeds are coined in the heart before the world sees or hears them (Mt 12:34,35). The word ought or its equal may be found in all languages; hence, it is in the mind of all people as well as in our laws that for the deeds and words we do and speak, we are responsible. "Break off thy sins by righteousness" (Da 4:27) shows that, in God's thought, it was man's duty, and therefore within his power, to keep the commandment. "Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well" (Isa 1:16 f). We cannot think of God commanding men to do what He knew they had no ability to do! God has a standing offer of pardon to all men who turn from their evil ways and do that which is right (Eze 33:11-14 f). Evil begins in the least objectionable things. In Ro 1:18-23, we have Paul's view of the falling away of the Gentiles. "Knowing God" (verse 21), they were "without excuse" (verse 20), but "glorified him not as God, neither gave thanks; but became vain in their reasonings, and their senseless heart was darkened" (verse 21). "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools" (verse 22). This led the way into idolatry, and that was followed by all the corruption and wrongdoing to be instigated by a heart turned away from all purity, and practiced in all the iniquity to be suggested by lust without control. Paul gives fifteen steps in the ladder on which men descend into darkness and ruin (Ga 5:19-21). When men become evil in themselves, they necessarily become evil in thought and deed toward others. This they bring upon themselves, or give way to, till God shall give "them up unto a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting" (Ro 1:28). Those thus fallen into habits of error, we should in meekness correct, that "they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him unto his will" (2Ti 2:25,26).

2. Physical Evil:

Usually, in the Old Testament the Hebrew word ra` is employed to denote that which is bad. Many times the bad is physical; it may have been occasioned by the sins for which the people of the nation were responsible, or it may have come, not as a retribution, but from accident or mismanagement or causes unknown. Very many times the evil is a corrective, to cause men to forsake the wrong and accept the right. The flood was sent upon the earth because "all flesh had corrupted their way" (Ge 6:12). This evil was to serve as a warning to those who were to live after. The ground had already been cursed for the good of Cain (Ge 4:12). Two purposes seemed to direct the treatment: (1) to leave in the minds of Cain and his descendants the knowledge that sin brings punishment, and (2) to increase the toil that would make them a better people. God overthrew Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboim, cities of the plain, making them "an example unto those that should live ungodly" (2Pe 2:6). In the Book of Isa the prophet, we find a number of "burdens": the burden of Babylon (Is 13:1-22); the burden of Moab ( Is 15:1-9); the burden of Damascus ( Is 17:1-14); the burden of Egypt ( Is 19:1-17); the burden of the Wilderness of the Sea ( Is 21:1-10); the burden of Dumah ( Is 21:11,12); the burden upon Arabia ( Is 21:13-17); the burden of the Valley of Vision ( Is 22:1-25); the burden of Tyre ( Is 23:1-18); the burden of the Beasts of the South ( Is 30:6-14); the burden of the Weary Beast ( Is 46:1,2). These may serve as an introduction to the story of wrongdoing and physical suffering threatened and executed. Isa contains many denunciations against Israel: against the Ten Tribes for following the sin introduced by Jeroboam the son of Nebat; and the threatening against Judah and Benjamin for not heeding the warnings. Jeremiah saw the woes that were sure to come upon Judah; for declaring them, he was shut up in prison, and yet they came, and the people were carried away into Babylon. These were the evils or afflictions brought upon the nations for their persistence in sin. "I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil; I am Yahweh, that doeth all these things" (Isa 45:7). These chastisements seemed grievous, and yet they yielded peaceable fruit unto them that were exercised thereby (Heb 12:11).

David Roberts Dungan

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. 1. Bad, ill. 2. Wicked, sinful, vicious, corrupt, perverse, wrong, base, vile, nefarious, malicious, malign, bad. 3. Mischievous, hurtful, harmful, injurious, pernicious, destructive, baneful, noxious, deleterious, bad. 4. Unhappy, unfortunate, adverse, unpropitious, disastrous, calamitous, woful, bad. II. n. 1. Calamity, ill, woe, misery, pain, suffering, sorrow, misfortune, disaster, reverse. 2. Wickedness, sin, depravity, malignity, wicked disposition, corruption, wrong, viciousness, baseness, badness. 3. Wrong, injury, mischief, harm.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

A halter. Cant, Also a wife.

Moby Thesaurus

Loki, Nemesis, Set, Typhon, aberrant, abnormal, abominable, abomination, accursed, ado, affliction, agony, amorality, angry, anguish, annoyance, anxiety, apocalyptic, arrant, atrocious, atrocity, awful, backsliding, bad, badness, baleful, bane, baneful, base, baseness, befoulment, besetment, bitchy, black, blamable, blameworthy, blight, bodeful, boding, bother, breach, bugbear, burden, calamitous, calamity, can of worms, carnality, cataclysm, catastrophe, catastrophic, catty, corrupt, corruption, crime, crime against humanity, criminal, criminality, crooked, crushing burden, crying evil, curse, damage, damaging, damnable, dark, deadly, deadly sin, death, debt, defilement, degeneracy, degradation, deleterious, delinquency, delinquent, depraved, depravity, dereliction, despiteful, despoliation, destruction, destructive, detriment, detrimental, deviant, devilry, deviltry, diablerie, diabolism, difficult, dire, dirty, disadvantage, disagreeable, disaster, disastrous, disease, disgrace, disgraceful, disgusting, dishonest, dishonorable, distasteful, doomful, dreadful, dreary, enormity, error, evil nature, evil-minded, evil-starred, evildoing, evilness, execrable, failure, fateful, fault, felonious, felony, fetid, flagitious, flagitiousness, flagrant, foreboding, foul, foulness, genocide, ghastly, gloomy, great ado, grievance, grisly, guilty act, hard, hardly the thing, harm, harmful, hateful, havoc, headache, heavy sin, heinous, heinousness, hideous, horrible, horrid, hurt, hurtful, ignominious, ill, ill-boding, ill-fated, ill-omened, ill-starred, illegal, immoral, immorality, improper, impropriety, impurity, inaccurate, inappropriate, inauspicious, inconvenience, incorrect, indecorous, indiscretion, inexpedient, inexpiable sin, infamous, infamy, infection, infelicitous, inferior, infliction, iniquitous, iniquity, injurious, injury, injustice, insidious, invalid, knavery, knavish, lapse, lethal, loathsome, low, lowering, malefaction, malefic, maleficence, maleficent, malevolent, malfeasance, malign, malignant, malum, matter, menacing, mephitic, minor wrong, mischief, mischievous, misconduct, misdeed, misdemeanor, misery, misfeasance, misfortune, monstrous, moral delinquency, mortal sin, nasty, naughty, nefarious, nefariousness, nemesis, nonfeasance, not done, not the thing, noxious, obliquity, obscene, of evil portent, off-base, off-color, offense, offensive, ominous, omission, open wound, out-of-line, outrage, pain, peccability, peccadillo, peccancy, peccant, peck of troubles, perfidious, pernicious, pest, pestilence, pestilential, plague, poison, poisonous, pollution, portending, portentous, problem, prodigality, profligacy, putrid, rancorous, rank, recidivism, repellent, reprehensible, reprobacy, reprobate, repugnant, repulsive, revolting, ruin, ruinous, running sore, sacrilegious, satanism, scandal, scandalous, scourge, sea of troubles, shame, shameful, shameless, sin, sin of commission, sin of omission, sinful, sinful act, sinfulness, sinister, slip, somber, sorrow, spiteful, stinking, suffering, terrible, the worst, thorn, threatening, torment, tort, toxic, toxin, traitorous, transgression, treacherous, trespass, trip, trouble, trying, turpitude, ugly, unangelicalness, unchastity, uncleanness, underhanded, undue, unfavorable, unfit, unfitting, unforgivable, unfortunate, ungodliness, ungoodness, unhealthy, unkind, unlawful, unlucky, unmorality, unpardonable, unpleasant, unprincipled, unpromising, unpropitious, unrighteous, unrighteousness, unsaintliness, unscrupulous, unseemly, unskillful, unspeakable, unsuitable, untoward, unutterable sin, unvirtuousness, unworthy, venial sin, venom, vexation, vice, vicious, viciousness, vile, vileness, villainous, villainy, virulent, visitation, wantonness, waywardness, wicked, wickedness, woe, woeful, worry, wrathful, wrong, wrongdoing, wrongful