Synonyms for evils


Grammar : Noun
Spell : ee-vuhl
Phonetic Transcription : ˈi vəl

Top 10 synonyms for evils Other synonyms for the word evils

Définition of evils

Origin :
  • Old English yfel (Kentish evel) "bad, vicious, ill, wicked," from Proto-Germanic *ubilaz (cf. Old Saxon ubil, Old Frisian and Middle Dutch evel, Dutch euvel, Old High German ubil, German übel, Gothic ubils), from PIE *upelo-, from root *wap- (cf. Hittite huwapp- "evil").
  • "In OE., as in all the other early Teut. langs., exc. Scandinavian, this word is the most comprehensive adjectival expression of disapproval, dislike or disparagement" [OED]. Evil was the word the Anglo-Saxons used where we would use bad, cruel, unskillful, defective (adj.), or harm, crime, misfortune, disease (n.). The meaning "extreme moral wickedness" was in Old English, but did not become the main sense until 18c. Related: Evilly. Evil eye (Latin oculus malus) was Old English eage yfel. Evilchild is attested as an English surname from 13c.
  • noun badness, immorality; disaster
Example sentences :
  • To consider these evils, to find their remedy, is the most sore necessity of our times.
  • Extract from : « United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches » by Various
  • But the evils regarding the hours of study and the nature of the studies were as bad.
  • Extract from : « The Grand Old Man » by Richard B. Cook
  • The evils which Mammon has wrought Mammon will never remedy.
  • Extract from : « The Conquest of Fear » by Basil King
  • Now learn what you must do, if you would avert all the evils which I have foretold.
  • Extract from : « Stories from Thucydides » by H. L. Havell
  • In this world we shall have to endure some evils as long as we live.
  • Extract from : « An Explanation of Luther's Small Catechism » by Joseph Stump
  • Why not speak of the evils of appetite and of envy and jealousy?
  • Extract from : « Understanding the Scriptures » by Francis McConnell
  • To-day we see the evils that have resulted from that change.
  • Extract from : « The Story of the Malakand Field Force » by Sir Winston S. Churchill
  • Evils that were not immediately near me had no power to affect my imagination.
  • Extract from : « Tales And Novels, Volume 4 (of 10) » by Maria Edgeworth
  • A person who escapes the evils of moderation by committing dyspepsia.
  • Extract from : « The Devil's Dictionary » by Ambrose Bierce
  • But I was still resolved to avoid both these evils, if possible.
  • Extract from : « Clarissa, Volume 2 (of 9) » by Samuel Richardson

Antonyms for evils

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019