I. ˈēvəl sometimes -(ˌ)vil adjective
( sometimes eviler or eviller ; evilest or evillest )
Etymology: Middle English ivel, evel, evil, from Old English yfel; akin to Old Frisian evel evil, Old Saxon uƀil, Old High German ubil, Gothic ubils evil, and perhaps to Old English ūp up; from the concept that evil is beyond the limits of accepted conduct — more at up
1.
a. : not good morally : marked by bad moral qualities : violating the rules of morality : wicked , sinful
fell into evil courses
never was a more evil attitude toward life transmitted to the young — Stephen Duggan
an evil piece of work
b. : arising from actual or imputed bad character or conduct
this tribe has acquired an evil name among its neighbors
a man of evil fame
2.
a. archaic : unsound or inferior in quality : worthless , poor
it is hard to believe this evil tree could produce so beneficent a wine — Andrew Young
b. : causing discomfort or repulsion : uncomfortable , offensive , painful , foul
a liquid with an evil smell
awoke with a start from a most realistic and evil dream
the strange fruit had an evil taste
it was an evil trip through fever-ridden jungles — S.H.Adams
forward progress halted because of ice and evil weather — All Hands
c. : angry , disagreeable , unpleasant , wrathful , malignant
found him ailing and in an evil temper
cast an evil glance at his opponent
he was ever an evil companion the morning after a drinking bout
3.
a. : causing or tending to cause harm : baneful , harmful , pernicious
the reaction of the slave system upon the southern people … was wholly evil — V.L.Parrington
people … remember sins committed secretly and wonder whether they have caused the evil sequence — John Steinbeck
other spots … without the evil concomitants of lagoon and fever-breeding vapors — Helen T. Lowe
b. : portending harm or misfortune
messengers … coming in from all sides with evil rumors of an immediate attack — T.E.Lawrence
they spit on the ground to avert the evil omen — J.G.Frazer
c. : wretched , miserable , unfortunate
evil weather caused a postponement
evil luck was presaged by the flight of a bird past the window — American Guide Series: Ind.
the fish of evil hap which … had been caught and frozen fast in the transparent ice — Llewelyn Powys
found himself in a most evil plight
d. : marked or signalized by misfortune or calamity : unlucky , inauspicious
the school fell upon evil days
made his friendship in an evil hour
my days have been few and evil — Ann E. Bleecker
Synonyms: see bad
II. adverb
Etymology: Middle English ivel, evel, evil, from Old English yfele, yfle, from yfel, adjective
archaic : in an evil manner : badly
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English ivel, evel, evil, from ivel, evel, evil, adjective
1.
a. : the fact of suffering and wickedness : the totality of undesirable, harmful, wicked acts, experiences, and things
attempts to explain the origin of evil in the world
regarding evil … as a necessary means of realizing the good — Frank Thilly
b. : a cosmic force producing evil actions or states
c.
(1) : wickedness , sin
don't make the mistake of thinking that you are dealing with a woman, … you happen to be dealing with evil in its most absolute form — Hamilton Basso
(2) : the wicked or undesirable element or portion of anything
the evil in that man outweighs the good
d.
(1) : evil actions or deeds — used chiefly with do
lived a blameless life, doing no evil to others, showing charity to all
(2) : slanderous or malicious speech
hearing and speaking no evil
(3) : an evil person : one that embodies or personifies wickedness
it seemed impossible that the ancient evil was alive after all these years — Archie Binns
2.
a. : something that is injurious to moral or physical happiness or welfare : misfortune , calamity , disaster
if it is an evil to lose our liberty in a war, it is much worse to sacrifice it ourselves on the altar of fear — M.R.Cohen
especially : something (as a condition or practice) that has harmful effects
the narcotics evil
the drink evil
erosion of the soil on the slopes … is one of the great evils in this region — Samuel Van Valkenburg & Ellsworth Huntington
struggling with the alternate evils of bad seasons and bad markets — G.E.Fussell
b. : a harmful consequence : ill effect
it is only necessary to remember that the deserts of No. Africa once grew wheat to realize what evils can follow the maltreatment … of the land — Henry Beresford-Peirse
3. : malady , disease ; especially : scrofula
Synonyms:
ill: evil is the antithesis of good, especially in moral or moralistic considerations; it may indicate a quality, trait, condition, practice, cause, or desire
obvious evils: the beggars, the terrible poverty, the prevalence of disease, the anarchy and corruption in politics — Bertrand Russell
war is perhaps the greatest of all human evils and follies — W.R.Inge
ill now applies mainly to anything distressing, painful, fretting, or injurious that one suffers
a pathetic lack of medical services, poor housing, poor schooling, and a hundred other ills flowing from the same source of poverty — A.E.Stevenson b. 1900
the diversification of crops long advocated by agricultural economists as a cure for the ills of the cotton belt — American Guide Series: Arkansas
IV. noun
( -s )
Etymology: probably from Old English geafol, gafol fork — more at gaffle
dialect England : pitchfork