evilness

Variant of evil

evil definition

evil (ē′vəl)

adjective

    1. morally bad or wrong; wicked; depraved
    2. resulting from or based on conduct regarded as immoral an evil reputation
  2. causing pain or trouble; harmful; injurious
  3. offensive or disgusting an evil odor
  4. threatening or bringing misfortune; unlucky; disastrous; unfortunate an evil hour
  5. angry, irritable, disagreeable, etc. in an evil mood

Etymology: ME ivel < OE yfel, akin to Ger übel < IE *upelo- < base *upo-, up from under > up, Sans upa, toward

adverb

in an evil, wicked, or offensive way: now only in hyphenated compounds evil-hearted

noun

  1. anything morally bad or wrong; wickedness; depravity; sin
  2. anything that causes harm, pain, misery, disaster, etc.

Related Forms:

evil Idioms

the Evil One

the Devil; Satan

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.