Meaning & use
evil doers
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“evil doers” is a form of “evildoer”.
Meaning
nounpluralliterary
People who deliberately do wicked or harmful things, especially when they are seen as thoroughly bad.
Grammar: Plural of evildoer; a single person is an evildoer: the evildoers were caught.
Patterns
- punish evildoers
- evildoers who do something
The old story ends with the evil doers being driven out of the village.
The preacher warned that evil doers would face judgment in the end.
In the film, a lone detective hunts down the evil doers who ruined the town.
Word forms
| singular | evildoer |
|---|
Common combinations
- punish evil doers
- The king promised to punish evil doers without mercy.
- bring evil doers to justice
- Police vowed to bring the evil doers to justice.
- fear of evil doers
- Villagers lived in fear of the evil doers in the hills.
- band of evil doers
- A band of evil doers attacked the caravan.
- evil doers among us
- The sermon spoke of evil doers among us.
Synonyms and how they differ
- wrongdoers
- Wrongdoers is more neutral and can cover small offenses, while evil doers suggests deep wickedness.
- villains
- Villains sounds like characters in a story, whereas evil doers can describe real people in a moral sense.
- criminals
- Criminals are people who break the law, but evil doers need not have broken any law.
- malefactors
- Malefactors is more formal and legal-sounding, and much rarer in everyday speech.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: evil doers or do-gooder?
evil doers vs do-gooder
A do-gooder is someone who tries to help others, often in a way that annoys people; it is the opposite of an evildoer in spirit but is not a pure opposite.
Practice
Which word best completes the sentence? The legend says the hero punished the ______ who had burned the farms.
Choose one answer.
Evil doers are people who commit wicked acts, which fits people who burned farms. Do-gooders are well-meaning helpers, so they do not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “evil doers”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.