Meanings
plural necessary evils
- idiomaticAn unfavorable thing that must be done or accepted, especially because the available alternative courses of action or inaction would be worse.
My boss is a real piece of work, but my kids make keeping this job a necessary evil.
3 more examples
Another punishing round of chemo is a necessary evil if Lisa is to have a fighting chance against the cancer.
Architecturally the stations of the Tonbridge-Hastings line are of great interest. Wadhurst, Robertsbridge and Stonegate are of simple Italinate^([sic]) style, unspoiled by that necessary evil of a platform awning.
1957 August 28, H. P. White, “The Tonbridge-Hastings Line and its Traffic”, in Railway Magazine, page 529But today, with more lineside furniture and infrastructure, the potential for problems to arise is greater. The impact of clearing overgrown greenery is a necessary evil that must be tackled - for a variety of reasons.
2025 October 29, Ryan Hall, “Hubble prevents toil and trouble”, in RAIL, number 1047, page 38
Synonyms & antonyms
Translations
Bulgarian необходимо зло
- необходимо зло (neobhodimo zlo)unfavorable thing that must be done or accepted
Catalan mal necessari
- mal necessariunfavorable thing that must be done or accepted
Chinese Mandarin 必要之惡 /必要之恶
- 必要之惡 /必要之恶unfavorable thing that must be done or accepted
Czech nutné zlo
- nutné zlounfavorable thing that must be done or accepted
Danish nødvendigt onde
- nødvendigt ondeunfavorable thing that must be done or accepted
Dutch noodzakelijk kwaad
- noodzakelijk kwaadunfavorable thing that must be done or accepted
Finnish välttämätön paha
- välttämätön pahaunfavorable thing that must be done or accepted
French mal nécessaire, mal pour un bien
- mal nécessaireunfavorable thing that must be done or accepted
- mal pour un bienunfavorable thing that must be done or accepted
German notwendiges Übel
- notwendiges Übelunfavorable thing that must be done or accepted
Greek αναγκαίο κακό
- αναγκαίο κακό (anagkaío kakó)unfavorable thing that must be done or accepted
Japanese 必要悪
- 必要悪 (hitsuyōaku)unfavorable thing that must be done or accepted
Korean 필요악
- 필요악 (piryoak)unfavorable thing that must be done or accepted
Norwegian Bokmål nødvendig onde
- nødvendig ondeunfavorable thing that must be done or accepted
Polish zło konieczne
- zło konieczneunfavorable thing that must be done or accepted
Portuguese mal necessário
- mal necessáriounfavorable thing that must be done or accepted
Russian необходимое зло
- необходимое зло (neobxodimoje zlo)unfavorable thing that must be done or accepted
Spanish mal necesario
- mal necesariounfavorable thing that must be done or accepted
Swedish nödvändigt ont
- nödvändigt ontunfavorable thing that must be done or accepted
Cite this entry
necessary evil. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/necessary%20evil
“necessary evil.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/necessary%20evil. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “necessary evil,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/necessary%20evil.
Source: necessary evil on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.