evils
- 1Plural of evil.
Reformers of the era campaigned against the social evils of poverty and child labor.
He warned that small evils, left unchecked, tend to grow into far greater ones.
Note
Only the countable side of evil takes an -s. Moral badness in the abstract stays uncountable, as in the struggle between good and evil. Once the word names particular harms or troubles, it counts like any ordinary noun: the evils of war, a choice between two evils. The adjective, which describes intent, corruption or a foul smell, never pluralizes. That makes evils always a noun, and usually a list of specific wrongs.
- 2Hostile or threatening looks directed at someone; a dirty, glaring stare.
He shot her evils the moment she mentioned his ex.
The two of them stood giving each other evils until a teacher stepped between them.
Similardaggers, glares, scowls
Note
Slang that clips the evil eye down to a bare plural with no article. You give someone evils, or get them, much as you give someone dirty looks. It lives almost entirely in that give-and-get frame ("Don't go giving me evils!"). Keep it for casual talk; in writing or formal speech, a glare or a dirty look carries the same meaning without the slang.
evils is a form of evil
evil, noun: Moral badness; the wickedness or malevolent force that stands opposed to good. Full entry
- Forms
- evilevils plural
- Spelling
- evil → evils: add -s
- Sound
- The ending sounds like /z/.
Use it in a sentence
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