evil

/ˈiː.vəl/

//ˈiː.vəl// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"evil" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“evil” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #1,859) as an adjective. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#1,859
frequency rank, English
2,246
“E” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Intending to harm; malevolent.

Corpus desk

Index EN-evil · evil · English

evil · rank #1,859 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,859
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,246
  • PHOTO-FINISH edge

Nearest frequency peer: edge (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “evil”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “evil” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

evil vs evo
50% similar
evil vs exit
50% similar
evil vs exile
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for evil
PropertyValue
Headwordevil
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈiː.vəl/
Letters4
Frequency rank#1,859
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “evil”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).evillands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “edge” (#1,858), “excited” (#1,860), “dry” (#1,857). Among 2,246 “E” headwords, “evil” is #1,859. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for evil is neighbouring look-alikes ("evo", "exit", …), not just typos; it is anadjective pronounced /ˈiː.vəl/. Frequency #1,859 among 2,246 “E” headwords. 6 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for evil, with forms such as "eivl", "evill", and "evli". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "evo", "exit", "exile", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English yvel, evel, ivel, uvel, from Old English yfel, from Proto-West Germanic *ubil, from Proto-Germanic *ubilaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂up(h₁)élos, a deverbal derivative of *h₂wep(h₁)-, *h₂wop(h₁)- (“treat badly”). See -le for the suppos… The correct English form is evil, spelled E-V-I-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Intending to harm; malevolent.
  2. 2
    Morally corrupt.
  3. 3
    Unpleasant, foul (of odor, taste, mood, weather, etc.).
  4. 4
    Producing or threatening sorrow, distress, injury, or calamity; unpropitious; calamitous.
  5. 5
    Having harmful qualities; not good; worthless or deleterious.
  6. 6
    Undesirable; harmful; bad practice.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how evil appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. an evil plot to brainwash and even kill innocent people
  2. Communism, socialism, and Islamism are part of the Axis of evil

Etymology

From Middle English yvel, evel, ivel, uvel, from Old English yfel, from Proto-West Germanic *ubil, from Proto-Germanic *ubilaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂up(h₁)élos, a deverbal derivative of *h₂wep(h₁)-, *h₂wop(h₁)- (“treat badly”). See -le for the supposed suffix. Alternatively from *upélos (“evil”, literally “going over or beyond (acceptable limits)”), from Proto-Indo-European *upo, *h₃ewp- (“down, up, over”). Cognates Cognate with Dutch euvel (“evil”), German übel (“bad, evil”), German Low German övel (“evil”), Luxembourgish iwwel (“queasy, nauseous; bad”), Gothic 𐌿𐌱𐌹𐌻𐍃 (ubils, “bad, evil”). Compare Old Irish fel (“bad, evil”), from Proto-Celtic *uɸelos, and Hittite 𒄷𒉿𒀊𒍣 (huwapp-ⁱ, “to mistreat, harass”), 𒄷𒉿𒀊𒉺𒀸 (huwappa-, “evil, badness”).

Synonyms

nefariousmaliciousmalevolentwickedabandonedarrantbadbad applebad seedbalefulbanefulbaseblack-hearteddarkdeleteriousdemonicdepraveddespicabledetrimentaldevilishdiabolicalevilevil-mindedfacinorousflagitiousharmfulheinousill-intentionedill-naturedimmoralincorrigibleiniquitousiniquousinjuriousknavishmaleficmaleficentmalignmalignantnidderingnideringnidingnithingno-goodpeccaminousperniciousreprehensiblereprobatesatanicscathfulsinfulsinistersordidsullenungodlyunholyviciousvilevillainouswrong

Antonyms

goodangelicbenigngood-mindedjustmoralrighteouswell-intentioned

This word in other languages

malo(Español)mauvais(Français)böse(Deutsch)mau(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • eivl
  • evill
  • evli
  • evvil

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of evil - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

eivl2evill1evli2evvil1
Edit distance from "evil"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "evil"?
"evil" is spelled E-V-I-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈiː.vəl/.
What does "evil" mean?
As an adjective, "evil" means: Intending to harm; malevolent.
What words are commonly confused with "evil"?
"evil" is commonly confused with "evo", "exit", "exile". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "evil"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "evil" is /ˈiː.vəl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "evil"?
From Middle English yvel, evel, ivel, uvel, from Old English yfel, from Proto-West Germanic *ubil, from Proto-Germanic *ubilaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂up(h₁)élos, a deverbal derivative of *h₂wep(h₁)-, *h₂wop(h₁)- (“treat badly”). See -le for ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "evil", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

edge#1,858dont#1,856iron#1,866roll#1,838

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list