evil

e|vil¹ W3 [ˈi:vəl] adj

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1¦(bad)¦

2¦(wrong)¦

3¦(unpleasant)¦

4¦(devil)¦

5 the evil eye

6 the evil hour/day etc

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[: Old English; Origin: yfel]

1.) ¦(BAD)¦

someone who is evil deliberately does very cruel things to harm other people

▪ an evil dictator responsible for the deaths of millions

▪ his evil deeds

2.) ¦(WRONG)¦

something that is evil is morally wrong because it harms people

▪ They condemned slavery as evil.

3.) ¦(UNPLEASANT)¦

very unpleasant

▪ an evil smell

▪ a puddle of evil black liquid

4.) ¦(DEVIL)¦

connected with the Devil and having special powers to harm people

▪ evil spirits

▪ an evil spell

5.) the evil eye

the power, which some people believe exists, to harm people by looking at them

▪ He claimed to have the power of the evil eye.

6.) the evil hour/day etc

a time when you expect something unpleasant or difficult to happen

▪ Don't delay, you're only putting off the evil hour.

>evilly adv

▪ Jeff grinned evilly as he picked up the phone.

evil ²

evil² n

1.)

something that is very bad or harmful

▪ She wanted to protect her children from the evils of the outside world.

▪ Poverty is one of the greatest social evils of our time.

▪ the evils of capitalism

2.) [U]

cruel or morally bad behaviour in general

▪ There is too much evil in the world.

▪ the eternal struggle between good and evil

→the lesser of two evils at ↑lesser

→necessary evil at ↑necessary¹ (3)