Meanings
- uncountableThe study of evil.
To call Mao either the saint or the devil of China is relevant only to those who see history as a branch of ponerology.
1962, Edgar Snow, The Other Side of the River: Red China Today, page 1223 more examples
Christian ponerology is divided into two leading sections, that of sin or the bad participating in guilt, and that of death or the bad which has participated in the same.
1849, Carl Immanuel Nitzsch, System of Christian doctrine, page 214The end for which God created the world is not an impotent thought, but an earnest one, incessantly striving to become actual in the world; for which reason it cannot be thwarted by actual sin, which is to be treated of in ethical ponerology.
1887, Isaak August Dorner, System of Christian Ethics, page 53To the charlatans who so desperately strive to perpetuate these pious frauds, such a threatened warm welcome is an essential feature of their gloomy ponerology — hence the puerile solemnity with which it continues to be invoked against all who temerously thumb the nose at their bogus thaumaturgy.
1958, Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, page 27
Origin
- Ancient Greekπονηρός“grievous, knavish”
- Englishponerology
From Ancient Greek πονηρός (ponērós, “grievous, knavish”) + -ology; compare Ancient Greek πονηρολογίᾱ (ponērologíā, “bad reasoning”).
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with ponerology
Cite this entry
ponerology. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ponerology
“ponerology.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ponerology. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ponerology,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ponerology.
Source: ponerology on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.