- (of people) enjoying harming others; morally bad and cruel
- Police described the killer as ‘a desperate and evil man’.
- an evil genius/dictator
- President Reagan referred to the Soviet Union as the ‘evil empire’.
- an evil grin
- Her face was full of evil intent.
Extra ExamplesTopics Personal qualitiesb2- Kristin smiled a particularly evil smile.
- He gave an evil laugh.
- A broad smile hid his evil intentions.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- look
- seem
- …
- particularly
- really
- truly
- …
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- having a harmful effect on people; morally bad
- evil deeds
- In his speech he described the evil effects of racism.
- connected with the devil and with what is bad in the world
- It was an ancient charm to ward off evil spirits.
- She had been deceived by an evil demon.
- extremely unpleasant
- The rubbish bin was giving off an evil smell.
Word OriginOld English yfel, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch euvel and German Übel.
Idioms
See evil in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee evil in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishthe evil hour/day
- (often humorous) the time when you have to do something difficult or unpleasant
- I’d better go and see the dentist—I can’t put off the evil hour any longer.
- If you keep on borrowing, you are only postponing the evil day when you have to pay it all back.
somebody’s good/evil genius
- (especially British English) a person or spirit who is thought to have a good/bad influence over you
a witch’s/an evil brew
- (British English, informal) an unpleasant drink that is a mixture of different things
Check pronunciation:
evil