necessary evils

A form of necessary evil — An unfavorable thing that must be done or accepted, especially because the available alternative courses of action or inaction would be worse.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

noun
  1. pluralplural of necessary evil
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

Source: necessary evils on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.