evil

e·vil

E0255300 (ē′vəl)adj. e·vil·er, e·vil·est 1. Morally bad or wrong; wicked: an evil tyrant.2. Causing ruin, injury, or pain; harmful: the evil effects of a poor diet.3. Characterized by or indicating future misfortune; ominous: evil omens.4. Bad or blameworthy by report; infamous: an evil reputation.5. Characterized by anger or spite; malicious: an evil temper.n.1. The quality of being morally bad or wrong; wickedness.2. That which causes harm, misfortune, or destruction: a leader's power to do both good and evil.3. An evil force, power, or personification.4. Something that is a cause or source of suffering, injury, or destruction: the social evils of poverty and injustice.adv. Archaic In an evil manner.

[Middle English, from Old English yfel; see wap- in Indo-European roots.]

e′vil·ly adv.e′vil·ness n.

evil

(ˈiːvəl) adj1. morally wrong or bad; wicked: an evil ruler. 2. causing harm or injury; harmful: an evil plan. 3. marked or accompanied by misfortune; unlucky: an evil fate. 4. (of temper, disposition, etc) characterized by anger or spite5. not in high esteem; infamous: an evil reputation. 6. offensive or unpleasant: an evil smell. 7. slang good; excellentn8. the quality or an instance of being morally wrong; wickedness: the evils of war. 9. (sometimes capital) a force or power that brings about wickedness or harm: evil is strong in the world. 10. (Pathology) archaic an illness or disease, esp scrofula (the king's evil)adv (now usually in combination) in an evil manner; badly: evil-smelling. [Old English yfel, of Germanic origin; compare Old Frisian evel, Old High German ubil evil, Old Irish adbal excessive] ˈevilly adv ˈevilness n

e•vil

(ˈi vəl)

adj. 1. morally wrong or bad; immoral; wicked: evil deeds; an evil life. 2. harmful; injurious: evil laws. 3. characterized or accompanied by misfortune or suffering; unfortunate; disastrous: to fall on evil days. 4. due to actual or imputed bad conduct or character: an evil reputation. 5. marked by anger, irritability, irascibility, etc.: an evil disposition. n. 6. something evil; evil quality, intention, or conduct: to choose the lesser of two evils. 7. the force in nature that governs and gives rise to wickedness and sin. 8. the wicked or immoral part of someone or something. 9. harm; mischief; misfortune: to wish one evil. 10. anything causing injury or harm. 11. a disease, as king's evil. adv. 12. in an evil manner; badly; ill: It went evil with him. Idioms: the evil one, the devil; Satan. [before 900; Old English yfel; c. Old Saxon, Old High German ubil, Gothic ubils] e′vil•ly, adv. e′vil•ness, n.

Evil

See also crime; devil; sin.
invultuationa form of witchcraft involving melting a wax image of the intended victim or, in voodoo, sticking it with pins.malismthe belief that the world is essentially bad or evil.ponerologythe branch of theology that studies sin and evil.

Evil

See Also: ACTION, CRUELTY

All sin is a kind of lying —St. Augustine
At first the evil impulse is as fragile as the thread of a spider, but eventually it becomes as tough as cart ropes —Babylonian Talmud
Bad as a rotten potato —Charlotte Brontë
Corruption is like a ball of snow, when once set a roll, it must increase —Charles Caleb Colton
The Devil … like influenza he walks abroad —W. H. Auden
Evil actions like crushed rotten eggs, stink in the nostrils of all —Bartlett’s Dictionary of Americanisms
Evil … a quality some people are born with, like a harelip —Ross Macdonald
Evil as dynamiting trout —Robert Traver
Evil enters like a needle and spreads like an oak tree —Ethiopian proverb
Evil, like parental punishment, is not intended for itself —Josepiz Albo
Evils in the journey of life are like the hills which alarm travelers on the road. Both appear great at a distance, but when we approach them we find they are far less insurmountable than we had conceived —Charles Caleb Colton
Evils, like poisons, have their uses, and there are diseases which no other remedy can reach —Thomas Paine
He’s like a fox, grey before he’s good —Thomas Fuller
Immorality in a house is like a worm in a plant —Babylonian Talmud
Immoral, like plying an alcoholic with liquor —Anon
Obscene as cancer —Wilfred Owens
Our sins, like our shadows when day is in its glory, scarce appear; toward evening, how great and monstrous they are! —Sir John Suckling
(He is a man of splendid abilities, but utterly corrupt. He shines and stinks like rotten mackerel by moonlight —John Randolph
Sin is a sort of bog; the farther you go in the more swampy it gets —Maxim Gorky
Sins black as night —Robert Lowell
So awful [a crime] it was like an atrocity picture or one of Foxe’s lives of the martyrs —Jonathan Valin
(You’re) soft and slimy … like an octopus. Like a quagmire —Jean-Paul Sartre
Vice is like a skunk that smells awfully rank, when stirred up by the pole of misfortune —Bartlett’s Dictionary of Americanisms
Vice, like virtue, grows in small steps —Jean Racine
Vice repeated is like the wandering wind, Blows dust in others’ eyes, to spread itself —William Shakespeare
Wrong as stealing from the poor box —Anon

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	evil - morally objectionable behavior wickedness, immorality, iniquityevildoing, transgression - the act of transgressing; the violation of a law or a duty or moral principle; "the boy was punished for the transgressions of his father"devilry, deviltry - wicked and cruel behaviorfoul play - unfair or dishonest behavior (especially involving violence)irreverence, violation - a disrespectful actsexual immorality - the evil ascribed to sexual acts that violate social conventions; "sexual immorality is the major reason for last year's record number of abortions"
	2.	evil - that which causes harm or destruction or misfortune; "the evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones"- Shakespearebad, badness - that which is below standard or expectations as of ethics or decency; "take the bad with the good"Four Horsemen - (New Testament) the four evils that will come at the end of the world: conquest rides a white horse; war a red horse; famine a black horse; plague a pale horse
	3.	evil - the quality of being morally wrong in principle or practice; "attempts to explain the origin of evil in the world"evilnessmalevolency, malice, malevolence - the quality of threatening evilmalignance, malignancy, malignity - quality of being disposed to evil; intense ill willbalefulness, maleficence, mischief - the quality or nature of being harmful or evilimmorality - the quality of not being in accord with standards of right or good conduct; "the immorality of basing the defense of the West on the threat of mutual assured destruction"worst - the greatest damage or wickedness of which one is capable; "the invaders did their worst"; "so pure of heart that his worst is another man's best"nefariousness, vileness, ugliness, wickedness - the quality of being wickedreprehensibility - being reprehensible; worthy of and deserving reprehension or reproofvillainousness, villainy - the quality of evil by virtue of villainous behaviorperverseness, perversity - deliberately deviating from what is good; "there will always be a few people who, through macho perversity, gain satisfaction from bullying and terrorism"wrongdoing, error - departure from what is ethically acceptablevice, frailty - moral weaknessgood, goodness - moral excellence or admirableness; "there is much good to be found in people"
Adj.	1.	evil - morally bad or wrong; "evil purposes"; "an evil influence"; "evil deeds"bad - having undesirable or negative qualities; "a bad report card"; "his sloppy appearance made a bad impression"; "a bad little boy"; "clothes in bad shape"; "a bad cut"; "bad luck"; "the news was very bad"; "the reviews were bad"; "the pay is bad"; "it was a bad light for reading"; "the movie was a bad choice"immoral - deliberately violating accepted principles of right and wrongoffensive - unpleasant or disgusting especially to the senses; "offensive odors"wrong - contrary to conscience or morality or law; "it is wrong for the rich to take advantage of the poor"; "cheating is wrong"; "it is wrong to lie"unrighteous - not righteous; "an unrighteous man"; "an unrighteous law"wicked - morally bad in principle or practicegood - morally admirable
	2.	evil - having the nature of vice viciouswicked - morally bad in principle or practice
	3.	evil - having or exerting a malignant influence; "malevolent stars"; "a malefic force"malefic, malevolent, malignmaleficent - harmful or evil in intent or effect

evil

noun1. wickedness, bad, wrong, vice, corruption, sin, wrongdoing, depravity, immorality, iniquity, badness, viciousness, villainy, sinfulness, turpitude, baseness, malignity, heinousness, maleficence We are being attacked by the forces of evil.2. harm, suffering, pain, hurt, misery, sorrow, woe those who see television as the root of all evil3. act of cruelty, crime, ill, horror, outrage, cruelty, brutality, misfortune, mischief, affliction, monstrosity, abomination, barbarity, villainy Racism is one of the greatest evils in the world.adjective1. wicked, bad, wrong, corrupt, vicious, vile, malicious, base, immoral, malignant, sinful, unholy, malevolent, heinous, depraved, villainous, nefarious, iniquitous, reprobate, maleficent the country's most evil criminals2. harmful, painful, disastrous, destructive, dire, catastrophic, mischievous, detrimental, hurtful, woeful, pernicious, ruinous, sorrowful, deleterious, injurious, baneful (archaic) Few people would not condemn slavery as evil.3. demonic, satanic, diabolical, hellish, devilish, infernal, fiendish This place is said to be haunted by an evil spirit.4. offensive, nasty, foul, unpleasant, vile, noxious, disagreeable, putrid, pestilential, mephitic There was an evil stench in the room.5. unfortunate, unlucky, unfavourable, ruinous, calamitous, inauspicious people of honour who happen to have fallen upon evil timesQuotations
"So farewell hope, and with hope farewell fear,"
"Farewell remorse: all good to me is lost;"
"Evil be thou my Good" [John Milton Paradise Lost]
"Evil be to him who evil thinks (Honi soit qui mal y pense)" Motto of the Order of the Garter
"What we call evil is simply ignorance bumping its head in the dark" [Henry Ford]
"The evil that men do lives after them" [William Shakespeare Julius Caesar]
"Evil alone has oil for every wheel" [Edna St. Vincent Millay Mine the Harvest]
"Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof" Bible: St. MatthewProverbs
"Choose the lesser of two evils"
"See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil"

evil

adjective1. Morally objectionable:bad, black, immoral, iniquitous, peccant, reprobate, sinful, vicious, wicked, wrong.2. Causing harm or injury:bad, deleterious, detrimental, harmful, hurtful, ill, injurious, mischievous.3. Bringing, predicting, or characterized by misfortune:bad, ill, inauspicious, unfavorable, unpropitious.4. Characterized by intense ill will or spite:black, despiteful, hateful, malevolent, malicious, malign, malignant, mean, nasty, poisonous, spiteful, venomous, vicious, wicked.Slang: bitchy.noun1. That which is morally bad or objectionable:iniquity, peccancy, sin, wickedness, wrong.2. A wicked act or wicked behavior:crime, deviltry, diablerie, evildoing, immorality, iniquity, misdeed, offense, peccancy, sin, wickedness, wrong, wrongdoing.3. Whatever is destructive or harmful:bad, badness, ill.4. A cause of suffering or harm:affliction, bane, curse, ill, plague, scourge, woe.

Translations

邪恶的不幸弊病罪恶邪恶

evil

(ˈiːvl) adjective very bad; wicked; sinful. evil intentions; an evil man; He looks evil; evil deeds; an evil tongue.邪恶的 noun1. wrong-doing, harm or wickedness. He tries to ignore all the evil in the world; Do not speak evil of anyone. 邪恶，罪恶，弊病 2. anything evil, eg crime, misfortune etc. London in the eighteenth century was a place of crime, filth, poverty and other evils. 不幸，邪恶 evil-evil-minded; evil-smelling. 邪恶的…（前缀） ˈevilly adverb邪恶地ˈevilness noun 邪恶，罪恶 ˌevil-ˈdoer noun a wicked or sinful person. 作恶的人，坏人

evil

→ 邪恶的zhCN

evil

evil,

antithesis of good. The philosophical problem of evil is most simply stated in the question, why does evil exist in the world? Death, disease, and sinsin,
in religion, unethical act. The term implies disobedience to a personal God, as in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and is not used so often in systems such as Buddhism where there is no personal divinity.
..... Click the link for more information. are often included in the problem. Traditional Christian belief ascribes evil to the misdeeds of humans, to whom God has granted free willfree will,
in philosophy, the doctrine that an individual, regardless of forces external to him, can and does choose at least some of his actions. The existence of free will is challenged by determinism.
..... Click the link for more information. . The Christian systems that believe in predestinationpredestination,
in theology, doctrine that asserts that God predestines from eternity the salvation of certain souls. So-called double predestination, as in Calvinism, is the added assertion that God also foreordains certain souls to damnation.
..... Click the link for more information. and justification by faith claim, like their Christian opponents, that God is still not the author of the evil men do. One explanation of evil is dualismdualism,
any philosophical system that seeks to explain all phenomena in terms of two distinct and irreducible principles. It is opposed to monism and pluralism. In Plato's philosophy there is an ultimate dualism of being and becoming, of ideas and matter.
..... Click the link for more information. , as in ZoroastrianismZoroastrianism
, religion founded by Zoroaster, but with many later accretions. Scriptures

Zoroastrianism's scriptures are the Avesta or the Zend Avesta [Pahlavi avesta=law, zend=commentary].
..... Click the link for more information. and ManichaeismManichaeism
or Manichaeanism
, religion founded by Mani (c.216–c.276). Mani's Life

Mani (called Manes by the Greeks and Romans) was born near Baghdad, probably of Persian parents; his father may have been a member of the Mandaeans.
..... Click the link for more information. . In optimism evil is treated often as more apparent than real. The book of Job is a literary treatment of the problem.

Bibliography

See R. Taylor, Good and Evil (1970); F. Sontag, The God of Evil (1970); R. Stivers, Evil in Modern Myth and Ritual (1982); D. Parkin, ed., The Anthropology of Evil (1987).

Evil

(religion, spiritualism, and occult)

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth... and God saw all that he had made, and behold, it was very good" (Genesis 1:1).

So why are things so messed up today? Well, sin entered into the world. That's the point of the whole serpent-and-apple thing in Genesis 3 (see Adam and Eve).

But that doesn't really answer the question. If evil entered the world through Adam and Eve's sin, it doesn't account for the devil. And if we accept the explanation given in the Hebrew Bible, that "sin was found in [Lucifer]" when five times he declared he would "be like God," there is still the problem of God's part in all this. If God is all powerful, why does he allow sin to hurt so many innocent people? Why does the drunk driver walk away from the accident that kills the innocent child? Why do bad things happen to good people? If God is good, why doesn't he stop it? Maybe he can't. But if God is not all powerful, how can he be God?

Genesis even seems to paint a picture of a God who made a mistake: "The Lord was sorry that he had made humankind on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart" (Genesis 6:6).

If sin is in the world, it must be because God either can't stop it or won't stop it. And God loses both ways. Religion has to solve what is known as the "problem" of evil or it dies on the vine.

Considering the problem of evil, we discover three religious responses, with many variations.

Evil Is Part of Life's Duality

This approach is best explained by the Buddha. Evil is a part of life. No one put it here. It just is. How can there be good without its opposite? Good cannot exist without evil. How can there be a coin with just one side? It's impossible.

The way to handle evil is to accept it, just as we embrace good. Good is not necessarily "better" than evil, it is just more comfortable.

This view made it possible for some of the scientists who participated in the Manhattan Project to live with themselves after viewing the first atomic bomb explosion. The devastation released certainly was going to be a great evil for millions of people. But the end of the war, to say nothing of the perceived benefits of nuclear energy, was seen to be greater good for a greater number of people.

Evil Is Different from Misfortune

Many forms of American Indian religious belief differentiate between evil and misfortune. Misfortune occurs when a tree falls on your house. It isn't anybody's fault, unless you consider that you should have built your house somewhere else.

Evil, however, is caused by malignant spirits that have to be placated by a shaman or medicine person. No one knows how the spirits got that way. Perhaps they were just created evil to keep humans on their toes. The important thing is not so much to figure it all out as it is to take care of the problem. In American Indian and other traditions, there are spells to thwart evil spirits.

Evil Is Somehow a Part of God's Plan

This is where it gets sticky. To accept this view, one has to adopt the position of figuring out how God thinks. One Christian view is described in detail by the apostle Paul (see Devil/Demons). Simply put, the devil was allowed to sin because God gave him free choice, and he chose evil. In order to show the other angels the consequences of evil, God is allowing an experiment to continue for a short time on Earth that will prove once and for all what happens when free beings choose evil.

A variation on this theme transfers the blame squarely to humans: "Every inclination of [man's] heart is evil from childhood" (Genesis 8:21).

But both views lead to a philosophical quagmire. If created beings are free to choose evil, then the entity of evil must exist. God knew all about it, but neither the angels nor humans did. The mere fact that they were innocent, that they didn't know evil existed, however, does not deny its reality. If evil existed at all, even if God was the only one who knew about it, how did it get there? And why is it so important for God to go to such elaborate lengths to show its danger? Why didn't God just close the door and throw away the key? (Evil still would have existed, but at least only the philosophers and God would have had to worry about it.)

Many have wondered: Is evil so big that God cannot destroy it? If good cannot exist without its wicked twin, have we found a chink in God's all-powerful armor? Is there something God can't do?

Evil

See also Demon, Devil, Villainy, Wickedness.Ahrimanrepresents principle of wickedness; will one day perish. [Persian Myth.: LLEI, I: 322; Zoroastrianism: Benét, 16]Alberich’s curseon the Rhinegold ring: possessor will die. [Ger. Opera: Wagner, Rhinegold, Westerman, 233]Apachesname given to Parisian gangsters. [Fr. Hist.: Payton, 31]Apollyondemon, personification of evil, vanquished by Christian’s wholesomeness. [Br. Lit.: Pilgrim’s Progress]Archimagoenchanter epitomizing wickedness. [Br. Lit.: Faerie Queene]Ategoddess of wickedness, mischief, and infatuation. [Gk. Myth.: Parrinder, 32]Avidyācause of suffering through desire. [Hindu Phil.: Parrinder, 36]Badman, Mr.from childhood to death, has committed every sin. [Br. Lit.: Bunyan The Life and Death of Mr. Badman in Magill III, 575]blacksymbol of sin and badness. [Color Symbolism: Jobes, 357]black dogsymbol of the devil. [Rom. Folklore: Brewer Dictionary, 329]black heartsymbol of a scoundrel. [Folklore: Jobes, 223]black poodlea transformation of Mephistopheles. [Ger. Lit.: Faust]crocodileepitome of power of evil. [Medieval Animal Symbolism: White, 8–10]darknesstraditional association with evil in many dualistic religions. [Folklore: Cirlot, 76–77]Darth Vaderfallen Jedi Knight has turned to evil. [Am. Cinema: Star Wars]dragonarchetypal symbol of Satan and wickedness. [Christian Symbolism: Appleton, 34]Drugprinciple of evil. [Zoroastrianism: Leach, 325]GestapoNazi secret police. [Ger. Hist.: Hitler, 453]Golden CalfMephisto’s cynical and demoniacal tarantella. [Fr. Opera: Gounod, Faust, Westerman, 187]Iagodeclaims “I believe in a cruel god.” [Br. Lit.: Othello; Ital. Opera: Verdi, Otello; Westerman, 329]John, Donplots against Claudio. [Br. Lit.: Much Ado About Nothing]Klingsorenemy of Grail knights. [Ger. Opera: Wagner, Parsifal, Westerman, 248]Kurtz, Mr.white trader in Africa, debased by savage natives into horrible practices. [Br. Lit.: Joseph Conrad Heart of Darkness in Magill III, 447]lobeliatraditional symbol of evil. [Flower Symbolism: Flora Symbolica, 175]Lokigod of fire, evil, and strife who contrived the death of Balder. [Scand. Myth.: Brewer Dictionary, 560]Mephistophelesthe cynical, malicious devil to whom Faust sells his soul. [Ger. Lit.: Faust, Payton, 436]Miles and Floraapparently sweet children assume wicked miens mysteriously. [Am. Lit.: The Turn of the Screw]Monteroneafter humiliation, curses both Duke and Rigoletto. [Ital. Opera: Verdi, Rigoletto, Westerman, 299]o’Nell, Pegwicked spirit claiming victim every seven years. [Br. Folklore: Briggs, 323]Pandora’s boxcontained all evils; opened up, evils escape to afflict world. [Rom. Myth.: Brewer Dictionary, 799]Popeyedegenerate gangster and murderer who rapes Temple Drake. [Am. Lit.: Sanctuary]Powler, Pegwicked water-demon; lures children to death. [Br. Folklore: Briggs, 323–324]Queen of the Nighturges the murder of Sarastro, her husband, by their daughter. [Ger. Opera: Mozart The Magic Flute in Benét, 619]Quint, Peterdead manservant who haunts James’s story. [Am. Lit.: Turn of the Screw]Rasputinimmoral person of tremendous power and seeming invulnerability. [Russ. Hist.: Espy, 339–340]Satanthe chief evil spirit; the great adversary of man. [Christianity and Judaism: Misc.]VandalsEast German people known for their wanton destruction (533). [Ger. Hist.: Payton, 705]Wicked Witch of the Westthe terror of Oz. [Am. Lit.: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz]Wolf’s Glenscene of macabre uproar. [Ger. Opera: von Weber, Der Freischütz, Westerman, 139–140]

evil

Archaic an illness or disease, esp scrofula (the king's evil)

evil

As used by a hacker, implies that some system, program,person, or institution is sufficiently maldesigned as to benot worth the bother of dealing with. Unlike the adjectivesin the cretinous, losing, brain-damaged series, "evil"does not imply incompetence or bad design, but rather a set ofgoals or design criteria fatally incompatible with thespeaker's. This usage is more an aesthetic and engineeringjudgment than a moral one in the mainstream sense. "Wethought about adding a Blue Glue interface but decided itwas too evil to deal with." "TECO is neat, but it can bepretty evil if you're prone to typos." Often pronounced withthe first syllable lengthened, as /eeee'vil/.

Compare evil and rude.

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e·vil

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Evil

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Bibliography

Evil

Evil Is Part of Life's Duality

Evil Is Different from Misfortune

Evil Is Somehow a Part of God's Plan

Evil

evil

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evil

evil

EVIL

evil

Synonyms for evil

noun wickedness

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noun harm

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noun act of cruelty

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adj wicked

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adj harmful

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adj demonic

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adj offensive

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adj unfortunate

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adj morally objectionable

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adj causing harm or injury

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adj bringing, predicting, or characterized by misfortune

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adj characterized by intense ill will or spite

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noun that which is morally bad or objectionable

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noun a wicked act or wicked behavior

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noun whatever is destructive or harmful

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noun a cause of suffering or harm

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Synonyms for evil

noun morally objectionable behavior

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noun that which causes harm or destruction or misfortune

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noun the quality of being morally wrong in principle or practice

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adj morally bad or wrong

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adj having the nature of vice

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adj having or exerting a malignant influence

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