evil
/ˈiːvl/noun
उच्चारण ईवल
बुराई, पाप, दुष्टता
Basic wordPYP · asked 7 times
Asked in previous papers
as antonym
+2 more
SSC Steno 2025SSC Exams before 2018- 1
[U]
a force that causes bad things to happen; morally bad behaviour
बुराई, पाप, दुष्टता
- the struggle between good and evil
- Dowry is a social evil.
- Many old stories show good winning over evil.
+ 2 more examples
- Hunger is a great evil that we must remove.
- Some people say that money is the root of all evil.
Synonyms wickedness sin wrongdoing vice badness
Opposite good virtue righteousness goodness
- 2
[C] formal
a very harmful or unpleasant thing
बुरी बात, अभिशाप, हानिकारक चीज़
- the evils of corruption
- Alcohol is the root of many evils in the village.
- Gambling is one of the evils that ruin families.
+ 2 more examples
- The report listed the social evils of child marriage.
- Pollution is a necessary evil of fast industrial growth, some argue.
- 1
morally bad and cruel; enjoying harming others
दुष्ट, पापी, क्रूर, बुरा
- an evil dictator who starved his own people
- It was an evil act.
- The film's villain is an evil wizard.
+ 2 more examples
- It would be evil to cheat poor farmers.
- She told stories about an evil queen who ruled the forest.
Synonyms wicked immoral sinful vile malevolent
Opposite good virtuous kind benevolent
- 2
connected with the devil or with bad spirits; extremely unpleasant
शैतानी, अशुभ; बहुत बुरा
- an evil spirit
- the evil eye
- an evil smell from the drain
+ 3 more examples
- Villagers believed an evil spirit lived in the old well.
- The stagnant pond gave off an evil smell.
- He gave her an evil look across the room.
§Structures (grammar patterns) 4
evil (adjective) + noun
Evil as an adjective describes deeply wicked people, acts or intentions: an evil plan.
विशेषण के रूप में evil गहरे दुष्ट व्यक्तियों, कार्यों या इरादों का वर्णन करता है: an evil plan।
- The evil king ruled with cruelty.
- He had an evil smile.
evil (uncountable noun)
Evil as a noun is moral wrongness in general: good and evil. A specific harmful thing is 'an evil' (countable).
Noun के रूप में evil सामान्य नैतिक बुराई है: good and evil। कोई विशेष हानिकारक चीज़ 'an evil' (countable) होती है।
- The story shows good winning over evil.
- Poverty is a social evil.
the lesser of two evils / a necessary evil
Fixed phrases: choose the lesser harm; or something unpleasant but unavoidable.
निश्चित phrases: दो बुराइयों में छोटी चुनना; या अप्रिय पर अनिवार्य बात।
- Taxes are a necessary evil.
evil eye / evil spirit
'The evil eye' is a belief in a look that brings bad luck.
'The evil eye' ऐसी नज़र में विश्वास है जो दुर्भाग्य लाती है।
- Grandmother put a black dot to keep off the evil eye.
+Collocations 4
adjective + evil
pureabsolutesocialnecessarygreatlesser
- Dowry is a social evil.
verb + evil
fightdoresistsee noroot out
- They fought evil with courage.
evil + noun
spiriteyeplangeniusintent
- The evil spirit scared the villagers.
good and evil
good and evilforces of eviltriumph of good over evil
- The epic shows the triumph of good over evil.
“More examples 5
- Dussehra celebrates the victory of good over evil.
दशहरा बुराई पर अच्छाई की जीत का उत्सव है।
- Child labour is an evil that must be stopped.
बाल श्रम एक बुराई है जिसे रोकना होगा।
- The villain in the film had an evil laugh.
फ़िल्म के खलनायक की हँसी दुष्टता भरी थी।
- Radhika chose the lesser of two evils.
राधिका ने दो बुराइयों में से कम बुरी को चुना।
- He gave her an evil look and left.
उसने उसे घूरकर देखा और चला गया।
!Common mistakes 3
✗ He is an evil man and does evils.
✓ He is an evil man and does evil.
Evil as moral wrongness is uncountable.
नैतिक बुराई के अर्थ में evil uncountable है।
✗ He wished evil on his enemy, and God will punish him with evils.
✓ He wished evil on his enemy, and God will punish him.
In the sense of wickedness, evil is uncountable and has no plural.
दुष्टता के अर्थ में evil uncountable है और इसका बहुवचन नहीं बनता।
✗ It was a evil plan.
✓ It was an evil plan.
'An' is used before a vowel sound.
स्वर ध्वनि से पहले 'an' आता है।
≠Thesaurus: which synonym when
These words concern wrongdoing at different strengths.
ये शब्द दुराचार के अलग-अलग स्तर बताते हैं।
¶Idioms 5
the lesser of two evils | the lesser evil
the less unpleasant of two bad choices
दो बुराइयों में छोटी बुराई
- Taking the loan was the lesser of two evils; the other was selling the land.
a necessary evil
something unpleasant that must be accepted to achieve a result
मजबूरी की बुराई, अनिवार्य कड़वाहट
- Exams are a necessary evil.
the evil eye
a look that is believed to cause harm
बुरी नज़र
- The baby wears a black thread against the evil eye.
money is the root of all evil
greed for money causes most wrongdoing
पैसा सारी बुराइयों की जड़ है
- He cheated his own brother; money is the root of all evil.
speak no evil
part of 'see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil', Gandhi's three monkeys
बुरा मत बोलो (गांधी जी के तीन बंदर)
- The three monkeys teach: see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.
◇Word family
≈Synonyms and antonyms
AaSpelling
e·vil
§Grammar and usage
Note: evil is stronger than bad; a bad man cheats, an evil man enjoys cruelty.
ध्यान रखिए: evil, bad से तीव्र है; bad आदमी धोखा देता है, evil आदमी क्रूरता का आनंद लेता है।
“Collocations, idioms and sayings
The lesser of two evils, a necessary evil, the evil eye, the root of all evil, see no evil.
Idioms: the lesser of two evils (दो बुराइयों में से कम बुरी), a necessary evil (ऐसी बुरी चीज़ जिसे मजबूरी में सहना पड़े), the evil eye (बुरी नज़र), the root of all evil (सारी बुराइयों की जड़), see no evil (बुराई की ओर से आँख मूँद लेना)।
✓In the exam
One-word substitution
A social evil (dowry, child marriage); a person who does evil is an evildoer; the lesser evil.
Social evil (दहेज, बाल विवाह); बुरा करने वाला evildoer; the lesser evil।