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.
See Examples For:
“I didn’t realize it was an evil AI company,” he says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
"People fear the environment where the shrine is. No evil will ever happen here. So, nobody fights vultures that perch here," a man they call the Vulture King tells the BBC.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
But it’s not just the island’s evil nature that proves a foil to Tom’s ambitions to turn the town into a New England attraction that rivals Cape Cod or Martha’s Vineyard.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
Nasty villains with evil plans to make us miserable.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Then it would start out with small disguised-as-almost-friendly-up-to-nothing-in-particular questions like, “What if Claire isn’t quite as completely evil and nasty as you thought, Ida B?”
From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan
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.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 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
The attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, gave rise to many evils.
From Salon ● Feb. 28, 2026
"I don't know if I'd say the lesser of two evils, but I think Chile needs a change," Claudio Sanjuez said, "and I clearly think Kast could be that alternative".
From BBC ● Dec. 14, 2025
“For them, at least, it is over. They are safe. Safe from the thousand evils of the everyday. Safe from the pains of an unjust fate.”
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
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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