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evildoer

evildoer

15 7.5
A person who does bad things to hurt other people
  • noun
  • /ˈiːvəlˌduːər/
translation icon : malhechor
  • We're too great a nation to allow the evildoers to affect our soul.
  • punish evildoers
  • evildoer using magic

Three weeks later after he said we will rid the world of the evildoers.

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Examples

  • How, then, could he allow his family to associate with such evildoers?

    Fiction book (1991)
  • The prophets insist on justice for the oppressed and, at the very least, repentance from evildoers for their crimes.

    Academic text (2003)
  • There are evildoers among us.

  • So we must band together to forever fight the evildoers anyway we can, short of violence.

    Blog text (5)
  • There are, indeed, many men who are evildoers.

    Academic text (2015)
  • Let that be a lesson to evildoers everywhere.

  • God punishes evildoers and cannot do wrong in this.

    Academic text (2003)
  • Beware, evildoers, wherever you are!

  • But just so we're not talking in abstracts: just who are these evildoers, and what is their just punishment?

    Blog text (4)
  • Justice must be served to all evildoers who threaten our community.

Synonyms

bad guy
vsevildoer
  • Informal
415 3.0

A person who goes against others or causes harm

refers to someone who actually does evil or wicked things
villain
vsevildoer
272 3.3

A person who does very bad things, often the main bad character in a story

covers people who do evil in real life as well
perpetrator
vsevildoer
161 6.8

A person who commits a crime or other serious wrong

includes moral wickedness beyond acts classified as crimes
crook
vsevildoer
  • Offensive
153 3.9

A dishonest person who cheats or steals

covers evil or wicked deeds beyond dishonest or criminal acts
sinner
vsevildoer
151 4.0

A person who does things seen as morally wrong, often by religion

describes evil acts without the specifically religious meaning
bad person
vsevildoer
  • Offensive
104 1.6

A person who harms others on purpose or does wrong things

emphasizes doing evil or wicked things rather than just intent
scoundrel
vsevildoer
  • Offensive
51 6.5

A person who behaves dishonestly and hurts others by lying or stealing

stresses evil or wickedness rather than mainly dishonesty
wrongdoer
vsevildoer
8 4.3

A person who breaks the law or hurts other people

focuses on evil or wicked motives rather than legal status
baddy
vsevildoer
  • Baby Talk
8 3.8

A bad character in a story who causes trouble for the hero, often in children's stories

denotes real wicked actions rather than childish story roles
devil
vsevildoer
  • Offensive
5 4.4

A cruel person who hurts others or treats them very badly

means someone who does evil but not necessarily inhuman cruelty
she-devil
vsevildoer
  • Offensive
4 8.8

A cruel woman who treats people very badly

applies to people who do evil without the female focus
wronger
vsevildoer
  • Informal
1 8.6

A person who is more at fault than someone else

focuses on evil or wicked behaviour rather than relative fault
badman
vsevildoer
  • Literature
1 7.7

A man who does cruel or wrong things in stories

applies to evil people generally, not only male figures

How Wicked

fiend
  • Offensive
14 7.3
villain
272 3.3
evildoer
15 7.5
criminal
2.1
wrongdoer
8 4.3

Surface Forms

evildoer singular
evildoers plural

Morphology

evildoer = evil + doer (transparent) = evil + doer

A straightforward compound of 'evil' + 'doer' meaning 'a person who does evil', so the meaning is directly recoverable from the parts.

Etymology

The word evildoer comes from two simple English parts: evil ('very bad') and doer ('one who does something'), so an evildoer is 'one who does bad things'.