evil 1 of 2

noun

Definition of evilnext
as in bad
that which is morally unacceptable our free will allows us to choose between good and evil

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

evil

2 of 2

adjective

ˈē-vəl How to pronounce evil (audio)
1
as in harmful
causing or capable of causing harm drank an evil potion

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in immoral
not conforming to a high moral standard; morally unacceptable their evil deeds rank among the worst in history

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3
as in ugly
causing intense displeasure, disgust, or resentment she refused to eat olives or anything which had their evil flavor

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of evil
Noun
But while critics deemed the character overly simplistic and an ultimately unbelievable representation of evil (Cathy is an allegory for the serpent in the garden of Eden, after all), Pugh and Kazan, however, took a very different approach. — Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 30 Sep. 2026 Basically, what Thiel’s doing in his Antichrist speeches is portraying our current predicament as an existential battle between good and evil. — Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026
Adjective
Denigrating the relationship—deciding, for instance, that the rejecter was evil, dishonest, unworthy of your respect or time— devalues your own history, in effect consigning the whole relationship to the trash bin. — George Loewenstein, Vogue, 28 Sep. 2026 The stories say the ghosts are believed to be protective and not evil. — Kaitlyn Keegan, Hartford Courant, 25 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for evil
Recent Examples of Synonyms for evil
  1. bad
  2. harmful
  3. immoral
  4. ugly
  5. wrong
  6. dangerous
  7. unlawful
  8. disgusting
Noun
  • In addition to public goods, AI will also create public bads.
    — James Broughel, Forbes.com, 8 June 2026
  • Naturally, the meeting is a flop because no one was prepared, and their spontaneous ideas are frankly fireable-offense bad (a baguette bag shaped like a baguette for Paris?
    — Jessica M. Goldstein, Vulture, 18 Dec. 2025
Definition of bad
Adjective
  • While the baits are not harmful to pets, eating several may cause mild stomach upset.
    — Dan Raby, CBS News, 7 Oct. 2026
  • The film primarily follows Frances Haugen (Mikey Madison), a Facebook employee in the company’s civic integrity team, the group tasked with making sure Facebook acts responsibly and avoids the harmful impacts of its product.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of harmful
Adjective
  • Some sources expand on the account in Genesis, suggesting the Sodomites were not only immoral but positively antimoral.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Sep. 2026
  • What’s so immoral about a goal scored accidentally with a hand or arm anyway?
    — Graham Scott, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of immoral
Adjective
  • That's on the heels of a 41-7 blowout at Northwestern that was ugly enough for Deion Sanders to dismiss a handful of players for conduct detrimental to the team days later.
    — Amber Harding OutKick, FOXNews.com, 30 Sep. 2026
  • In a world where (good, bad and ugly) answers and options are available, an employer needs a workforce that understands the business objectives and can weed through the noise to identify and execute the best solution.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of ugly
Noun
  • But Steffee, who has spent the past several months watching his members go back to work at data center sites where coal used to be the reason anyone had a job at all, also believes the governor got the framing wrong.
    — Salena Zito, Washington Post, 6 Oct. 2026
  • The governor, those critics said, missed an opportunity to take historic apologies he’s made for the state’s past wrongs against Indigenous people and turn them into more concrete changes.
    — Andrew Graham, Sacbee.com, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of wrong
Adjective
  • Meanwhile, the financial clout of the industry has grown considerably, resulting in a new, more dangerous problem.
    — Kent Sepkowitz, STAT, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Attempting to de-escalate the scare, Rospotrebnadzor declared the regional sanitary situation stable after secondary testing showed no traces of dangerous pathogens linked to Shipilova’s research.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of dangerous
Adjective
  • In a blow to the investment migration industry, the European Union's top court ruled Malta's golden passport program unlawful in April 2025, declaring that EU citizenship could not be sold.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026
  • In a blow to the investment migration industry, the European Union’s top court ruled Malta’s golden passport program unlawful in April 2025, declaring that EU citizenship could not be sold.
    — Isabel Debre, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of unlawful
Adjective
  • People tend to think of waste as trash, sewage, slag, manure and other seemingly useless or disgusting substances.
    — Edward D. Melillo, The Conversation, 30 Sep. 2026
  • The better to act out empire’s idea of what disgusting demonic sickness looks like.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of disgusting

Browse Nearby Words

evidently
evil
evildoer
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Cite this Entry

“Evil.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/evil. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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