evil
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.
She feels deciding between the final two options in Sunday's vote is like choosing the "lesser evil".
From BBC • Jun. 6, 2026
Presiding over the baddies, Jared Leto’s blue-skinned, caped, literally boneheaded man-demon Skeletor is meant to be the fiercest of antagonists, but even his own henchmen find his signature evil cackle to be a bit laughable.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026
The evil was not merely that searches occurred but that the government treated entire populations as searchable first and innocent later.
From Slate • May 20, 2026
And, for the people who see only what they want to see, Davis is the voice of baseball’s evil empire.
From Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2026
Hugging the knight's knees, he said, "I embrace the knees of the most famous of all knights, Don Quixote de la Mancha, fighter of evil and savior of the unfortunate."
From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios
Vocabulary lists containing evil
Bush's Address on 9/11
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"Frankenstein" and "How Frankenstein Began"
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"The Flying Machine" by Ray Bradbury
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