evil twin

UK/ˈiːvɪl twɪn/UK/ˈiːvl̩ twɪn/US/ˈivl̩ twɪn/

noun

A duplicate or counterpart that acts in a contrary, nefarious, or insidious manner.

“As a ploy to discredit the reformist politician, the opposing party had hired a lookalike to act as his evil twin and be seen in a variety of compromising situations.”

Meanings

nounevil twin (plural evil twins)

plural evil twins

  1. idiomaticA duplicate or counterpart that acts in a contrary, nefarious, or insidious manner.

    As a ploy to discredit the reformist politician, the opposing party had hired a lookalike to act as his evil twin and be seen in a variety of compromising situations.

    2 more examples

    ...we see the flip side, the evil twin, the dark side of addition. Human nature contains both a thing and its opposite in varying degrees of tension, and so for every plus there is a minus.

    2003, Peter Halstead, Sea Sun

    ...[he]..lived his life under [another man's name], becoming his evil twin: Staas bought and sold homes, opened bank accounts, obtained credit, married twice, and was arrested at least three times.

    2004, Bob Sullivan, Your Evil Twin: Behind the Identity Theft Epidemic

    Synonyms: alter ego, changeling, doppelganger

  2. computingA rogue wireless access point installed near a legitimate one for purposes of eavesdropping or phishing.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA duplicate or counterpart that acts in a contrary, nefarious, or insidious manner.

Origin

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 邪恶分身
  • 邪恶分身 (xié'è fēnshēn)duplicate or counterpart
French double maléfique
  • double maléfiqueduplicate or counterpart
Hungarian gonosz ikertestvér
  • gonosz ikertestvérduplicate or counterpart
Spanish gemelo malvado
  • gemelo malvadoduplicate or counterpart
Cite this entry
APA

evil twin. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/evil%20twin

MLA

“evil twin.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/evil%20twin. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “evil twin,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/evil%20twin.

Source: evil twin on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.