eviler or eviller; evilest or evillest
1
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
1
a
: the fact of suffering, misfortune, and wrongdoing
b
: a cosmic evil force
2
: something that brings sorrow, distress, or calamity
archaic
: in an evil manner
Examples of evil in a Sentence
Adjective
She drank an evil potion.
The city has fallen on evil days.
It was an evil omen.
Noun
the battle of good versus evil
our free will allows us to choose between good and evil
Recent Examples on the Web
Richard Edwards, Space.com, 20 June 2025
In Twin Peaks, Deputy Chief Hawk and Sheriff Frank Truman—filling in for ailing brother Frank—work on following a lead phoned in by an ailing Log Lady, while Richard Horne, son of Audrey Horne and Cooper’s evil double, spiraling into depravity and addiction, kills a child in a hit-and-run.
—Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 20 June 2025
Ben Woollard, JSTOR Daily, 18 June 2025
This national recognition of the evils of slavery comes during a significant backlash against teaching American history, as well as an erosion of other civil rights, namely a rollback of voting rights in places that have high populations of Black voters.
—Jenny Singer, Glamour, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for evil
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Adjective
Unfortunately, those lofty first-act ambitions give way to something much more formulaic, as Buzz joins forces with the usual ragtag bunch of misfits to battle the evil Emperor Zurg.
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 20 June 2025
In Twin Peaks, Deputy Chief Hawk and Sheriff Frank Truman—filling in for ailing brother Frank—work on following a lead phoned in by an ailing Log Lady, while Richard Horne, son of Audrey Horne and Cooper’s evil double, spiraling into depravity and addiction, kills a child in a hit-and-run.
—Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 20 June 2025
Noun
The primary concern of the book was pacifism—the rejection of all violence, even to combat evil.
—Ben Woollard, JSTOR Daily, 18 June 2025
This national recognition of the evils of slavery comes during a significant backlash against teaching American history, as well as an erosion of other civil rights, namely a rollback of voting rights in places that have high populations of Black voters.
—Jenny Singer, Glamour, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for evil
Cite this Entry
“Evil.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/evil. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
evil
2 of 2 noun1
: something that brings sorrow, trouble, or destruction
2
: the fact of suffering or wrongdoing
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