Bad vs. Evil: Know the Difference
By Shumaila Saeed || Updated on December 28, 2023
"Bad" describes poor quality or harmful actions, while "Evil" implies a profound immorality and wickedness, often with intent.
Key Differences
"Bad" is a broad term used to describe something of poor quality or unfavorable nature, like bad weather. In contrast, "evil" refers to actions or intentions that are morally reprehensible and deeply harmful, like an evil deed. While bad can be used in a variety of contexts, evil specifically denotes a moral judgement.
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Dec 28, 2023
In terms of severity, "bad" is often less intense and can refer to minor wrongs or deficiencies. However, "evil" implies a greater degree of moral corruption, often associated with malevolent intentions or actions. Bad can denote simple mistakes or poor conditions, while evil suggests a deliberate choice to harm.
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Dec 28, 2023
The usage of "bad" spans a wide range, from poor performance to mild misbehavior. Conversely, "evil" is used in contexts that discuss profound immorality or wickedness, often in religious or philosophical discussions. Bad is more common in everyday language, while evil has a more serious connotation.
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Dec 28, 2023
In literature, "bad" can be used to describe unfavorable characters or situations but lacks the depth of malevolence implied by "evil." Evil, in literary contexts, often represents a fundamental opposition to good, embodying deeper, more sinister characteristics.
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Dec 28, 2023
Culturally, "bad" can sometimes have a subjective or relative meaning, varying with context and perspective. On the other hand, "evil" is often perceived as universally negative, transcending cultural boundaries to represent actions or intentions universally condemned.
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Dec 28, 2023
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Comparison Chart
Definition
Poor quality, harmful but not deeply immoral
Profound immorality, malevolence
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Severity
Often less intense, can be minor
Greater degree of moral corruption
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Dec 28, 2023
Usage Context
Wide range, everyday language
Serious contexts, moral discussions
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Literary Usage
Unfavorable situations or characters
Deep malevolence, fundamental opposition to good
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Cultural Perception
Subjective, varies with context
Universally negative, transcending cultures
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Dec 28, 2023
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Bad and Evil Definitions
Bad
Morally objectionable, but not deeply.
Lying to your friend is a bad thing to do.
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Evil
Associated with supernatural harm or moral wrong.
The curse was considered an evil spell.
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Evil
Causing ruin, injury, or pain; harmful
The evil effects of a poor diet.
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Oct 19, 2023
Evil
That which causes harm, misfortune, or destruction
A leader's power to do both good and evil.
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Oct 19, 2023
Evil
Something that is a cause or source of suffering, injury, or destruction
The social evils of poverty and injustice.
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Oct 19, 2023
Evil
Intending to harm; malevolent.
An evil plot to brainwash and even kill innocent people
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Oct 19, 2023
Evil
Morally corrupt.
If something is evil, it is never mandatory.
Do you think that companies that engage in animal testing are evil?
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Oct 19, 2023
Evil
Producing or threatening sorrow, distress, injury, or calamity; unpropitious; calamitous.
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Oct 19, 2023
Evil
(obsolete) Having harmful qualities; not good; worthless or deleterious.
An evil beast; an evil plant; an evil crop
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Oct 19, 2023
Evil
Undesirable; harmful; bad practice.
Global variables are evil; storing processing context in object member variables allows those objects to be reused in a much more flexible way.
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Oct 19, 2023
Evil
Moral badness; wickedness; malevolence; the forces or behaviors that are the opposite or enemy of good.
The evils of society include murder and theft.
Evil lacks spirituality, hence its need for mind control.
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Oct 19, 2023
Bad
Something that is below standard or expectations, as of ethics or decency
Weighing the good against the bad.
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Oct 19, 2023
Evil
Something which impairs the happiness of a being or deprives a being of any good; something which causes suffering of any kind to sentient beings; harm; injury; mischief.
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Oct 19, 2023
Evil
(obsolete) A malady or disease; especially in combination, as in king's evil, colt evil.
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Oct 19, 2023
Bad
Unfavorable; negative; not good.
Hiring you was very bad for this company.
The weather looks pretty bad right now.
He is in a bad mood.
You have very bad grades.
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Oct 19, 2023
Bad
Not suitable or fitting.
Do you think it is a bad idea to confront him directly?
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Evil
(obsolete) badly, poorly; in an insufficient way.
It went evil with him.
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Oct 19, 2023
Bad
Not appropriate, of manners etc.
It is bad manners to talk with your mouth full.
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Evil
Having qualities tending to injury and mischief; having a nature or properties which tend to badness; mischievous; not good; worthless or deleterious; poor; as, an evil beast; and evil plant; an evil crop.
A good tree can not bring forth evil fruit.
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Bad
Unhealthy; liable to cause health problems.
Lard is bad for you. Smoking is bad for you, too. Grapes are bad for dogs but not for humans.
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Evil
Having or exhibiting bad moral qualities; morally corrupt; wicked; wrong; vicious; as, evil conduct, thoughts, heart, words, and the like.
Ah, what a sign it is of evil life,When death's approach is seen so terrible.
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Oct 19, 2023
Bad
(chiefly applied to a person's state of health) Sickly, unhealthy, unwell.
Joe's in a bad way; he can't even get out of bed.
I went to the hospital to see how my grandfather was doing. Unfortunately, he's in a bad state.
I've had a bad back since the accident.
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Oct 19, 2023
Evil
Producing or threatening sorrow, distress, injury, or calamity; unpropitious; calamitous; as, evil tidings; evil arrows; evil days.
Because he hath brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel.
The owl shrieked at thy birth - an evil sign.
Evil news rides post, while good news baits.
It almost led him to believe in the evil eye.
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Oct 19, 2023
Bad
Not behaving; behaving badly; misbehaving; mischievous or disobedient.
Stop being bad, or you will get a spanking!
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Oct 19, 2023
Evil
Anything which impairs the happiness of a being or deprives a being of any good; anything which causes suffering of any kind to sentient beings; injury; mischief; harm; - opposed to good.
Evils which our own misdeeds have wrought.
The evil that men do lives after them.
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Oct 19, 2023
Bad
Tricky; stressful; unpleasant.
Divorce is usually a bad experience for everybody involved.
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Oct 19, 2023
Evil
Moral badness, or the deviation of a moral being from the principles of virtue imposed by conscience, or by the will of the Supreme Being, or by the principles of a lawful human authority; disposition to do wrong; moral offence; wickedness; depravity.
The heart of the sons of men is full of evil.
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Evil
Malady or disease; especially in the phrase king's evil, the scrofula.
He [Edward the Confessor] was the first that touched for the evil.
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Evil
In an evil manner; not well; ill; badly; unhappily; injuriously; unkindly.
It went evil with his house.
The Egyptians evil entreated us, and affected us.
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Oct 19, 2023
Evil
That which causes harm or destruction or misfortune;
The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones
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Oct 19, 2023
Bad
False; counterfeit; illegitimate.
They were caught trying to pass bad coinage.
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Evil
The quality of being morally wrong in principle or practice;
Attempts to explain the origin of evil in the world
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Oct 19, 2023
Bad
Unskilled; of limited ability; not good.
I'm pretty bad at speaking French.
He's a bad gardener; everything he tries to grow ends up dying.
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Bad
Of poor physical appearance.
I look really bad whenever I get less than seven hours of sleep.
I don't look bad in this dress, do I?
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Bad
(slang) Good, superlative, excellent, cool.
Man, that new car you bought is bad!
You is bad, man!
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Oct 19, 2023
Evil
Having or exerting a malignant influence;
Malevolent stars
A malefic force
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Evil
Embodying or associated with the devil.
The character was portrayed as an evil sorcerer.
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Bad
Very attractive; hot, sexy.
Hopefully I can pull some bad bitches tonight.
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Oct 19, 2023
Evil
Causing or capable of causing ruin.
The hurricane's destruction was seen as an act of evil.
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Dec 28, 2023
Bad
An item (or kind of item) of merchandise with negative value; an unwanted good. Bad (economics)
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Oct 19, 2023
Bad
Wanting good qualities, whether physical or moral; injurious, hurtful, inconvenient, offensive, painful, unfavorable, or defective, either physically or morally; evil; vicious; wicked; - the opposite of good; as, a bad man; bad conduct; bad habits; bad soil; bad air; bad health; a bad crop; bad news.
The strong antipathy of good to bad.
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Oct 19, 2023
Bad
That which is below standard or expectations as of ethics or decency;
Take the bad with the good
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Oct 19, 2023
Bad
Having undesirable or negative qualities;
A bad report card
His sloppy appearance made a bad impression
A bad little boy
Clothes in bad shape
A bad cut
Bad luck
The news was very bad
The reviews were bad
The pay is bad
It was a bad light for reading
The movie was a bad choice
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Oct 19, 2023
Bad
Very intense;
A bad headache
In a big rage
Had a big (or bad) shock
A bad earthquake
A bad storm
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Oct 19, 2023
Bad
Feeling physical discomfort or pain (`tough' is occasionally used colloquially for `bad');
My throat feels bad
She felt bad all over
He was feeling tough after a restless night
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Oct 19, 2023
Bad
(of foodstuffs) not in an edible or usable condition;
Bad meat
A refrigerator full of spoilt food
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Bad
Below average in quality or performance;
A bad chess player
A bad recital
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Bad
Not financially safe or secure;
A bad investment
High risk investments
Anything that promises to pay too much can't help being risky
Speculative business enterprises
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Bad
Physically unsound or diseased;
Has a bad back
A bad heart
Bad teeth
An unsound limb
Unsound teeth
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Bad
Keenly sorry or regretful;
Felt bad about letting the team down
Was sorry that she had treated him so badly
Felt bad about breaking the vase
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Oct 19, 2023
Bad
With great intensity (`bad' is a nonstandard variant for `badly');
The injury hurt badly
The buildings were badly shaken
It hurts bad
We need water bad
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Oct 19, 2023
Bad
Very much; strongly;
I wanted it badly enough to work hard for it
The cables had sagged badly
They were badly in need of help
He wants a bicycle so bad he can taste it
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Oct 19, 2023
Repeatedly Asked Queries
Is 'evil' always serious?
Typically, it denotes a serious level of immorality.
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Dec 28, 2023
Can 'bad' be used playfully?
Yes, sometimes 'bad' is used humorously or lightly.
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Dec 28, 2023
Can food be described as 'evil'?
Not typically, 'bad' is more appropriate for food.
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Dec 28, 2023
Is 'bad' always a moral judgement?
Not always, it can describe quality or condition.
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Dec 28, 2023
Does 'bad' have a cultural variance?
Yes, what's considered 'bad' can vary culturally.
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Dec 28, 2023
Does 'evil' have a historical context?
Yes, it's often discussed in historical and cultural studies.
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Dec 28, 2023
Are 'bad' and 'evil' interchangeable?
No, they differ in intensity and moral weight.
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Dec 28, 2023
Is 'evil' used in legal contexts?
Rarely, it's more common in moral discussions.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 28, 2023
Is 'evil' always related to actions?
It can also refer to thoughts or intentions.
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Dec 28, 2023
Do cultures differ in defining 'evil'?
The concept of 'evil' has some cultural variations.
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Dec 28, 2023
Can a place be 'evil'?
A place can be described as 'evil' if it's associated with malevolence.
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Dec 28, 2023
Is 'evil' a religious term?
It's used in religious contexts but not exclusively.
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Dec 28, 2023
Can animals be 'evil'?
'Evil' is typically reserved for human actions or intents.
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Dec 28, 2023
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About Author
Written by
Shumaila SaeedShumaila Saeed, an expert content creator with 6 years of experience, specializes in distilling complex topics into easily digestible comparisons, shining a light on the nuances that both inform and educate readers with clarity and accuracy.
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