Tra từ evil - Từ điển Oxford Advanced Learner 8th

evil [evil evils] adjective, noun BrE [ˈiːvl] NAmE [ˈiːvl] BrE [ˈiːvɪl] NAmE [ˈiːvɪl]
adjective
1. (of people)enjoying harming others; morally bad and cruel
•an evil man
•an evil grin
2. having a harmful effect on people; morally bad
•evil deeds
•the evil effects of racism
3. connected with the Devil and with what is bad in the world
•evil spirits
4. extremely unpleasant
•an evil smell
more at a witch's/an evil brew at ↑brew _n., sb's good/evil genius at ↑genius _n.

Word Origin:
Old English yfel, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch euvel and German Übel.

Thesaurus:
evil adj.
•the evil effects of racism
wicked • • bad • • dark • • satanic • • demonic • |formal sinful • • base •
Opp: good
a/an evil/wicked/bad/sinful man/woman/life/act/thought
a/an evil/wicked crime
evil/dark/demonic forces/powers
Evil or wicked? Both are very strong words and should be used with care. Evil is stronger than wicked. Children, witches and stepmothers can be wicked, especially in children's stories. Spirits, forces, monsters and killers are evil, especially in stories for adults and popular news reports.

Example Bank:
•Kristin smiled a particularly evil smile.
•He gave an evil laugh.
•In his speech he described the evil effects of racism.
•It was an ancient charm to ward off evil spirits.
•Police described the killer as ‘a desperate and evil man’.
•The rubbish bin was giving off an evil smell.
Idiom: ↑evil day

noun (formal)
1. uncountable a force that causes bad things to happen; morally bad behaviour
•the eternal struggle between good and evil
•the forces of evil
• You cannot pretend there's no evil in the world.
Opp: ↑good
2. countable, usually plural a bad or harmful thing; the bad effect of sth
•the evils of drugs/alcohol
•social evils
see the lesser of two evilsthe lesser evil at ↑lesser, a necessary evil at ↑necessary

Word Origin:
Old English yfel, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch euvel and German Übel.

Thesaurus:
evil noun U
•the eternal struggle between good and evil
wrong • • wickedness • • sin • • immorality • |especially journalism vice •
Opp: good
do evil/wrong
turn (away) from evil/wickedness/sin

Example Bank:
•He calls war ‘a necessary evil’.
•He sees money as the root of all evil.
•His simple message was that God will punish those that do evil.
•This sort of job is a lesser evil than unemployment.
•You can always choose to resist evil.
•a duty to defeat the evil of terrorism
•a perpetual struggle between the forces of good and the forces of evil
•combating the social evils of poverty, disease and ignorance
•not a simple choice between good and evil
•the intrinsic evil of taking a human life
•the pure evil in his soul
•He believed he could rid the world of the forces of evil.
•Humans have the capacity to do more evil than any other species on earth.
•The film is about the eternal struggle between good and evil.
•They hardly mentioned such social evils as racism and sexism.
•We were warned against the evils of drugs.
•You cannot pretend there's no evil in the world.