wickedness

W4I1C3K5E1D2N1E1S1S1
/ˈwɪkɪdnəs/

noun

The state of being wicked; evil disposition; immorality.

Meanings

nounwickedness (countable and uncountable, plural wickednesses)

plural wickednesses

  1. countableuncountableThe state of being wicked; evil disposition; immorality.

    We speak of wickedness as something in the soul different from virtue.

    2005, Plato, translated by Lesley Brown, Sophist, page 227d
    2 more examples

    So, if a Sonne that is by his Father ſent about Merchandize, doe ſinfully miſcarry vpon the Sea; the imputation of his vvickedneſſe, by your rule, ſhould be impoſed vpon his Father that ſent him: […]

    1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i], page 84, column 2

    Derived from the Latin words "scelero" — which means crime or wickedness — and "phobos" meaning fear — scelerophobia is coined by both criminologists and psychologists as the fear of burglars, according to Ayla Faisal, a clinical psychologist and a PhD scholar at the Institute of Clinical Psychology at the University of Karachi.

    2023 September 26, Abby Roch, “My house was broken into. Now I have developed a fear of thieves called scelerophobia.”, in Business Insider

    Synonyms: dishonour, indecency, unrighteousness, dishonour, immorality, improbity, impropriety, indecency

  2. countableuncountableA wicked or sinful thing or act; morally bad or objectionable behaviour.

    Synonyms: depravity, outrage, turpitude, atrocity, depravity, infamy, iniquity, outrage

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA wicked or sinful thing or act; morally bad or objectionable behaviour.

More synonyms by meaning

nounmorally objectionable behavior

nounabsence of moral or spiritual values

nounthe quality of being wicked

nounestrangement from god

nounthe quality of being disgusting to the senses or emotions

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Middle Englishwikkednesse
  2. Englishwickedness

Inherited from Middle English wikkednesse, wikkednes, equivalent to wicked + -ness.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek πονηρία
  • πονηρία (ponēría)state of being wicked
Bulgarian злоба, лошотия
  • злоба (zloba)state of being wicked
  • лошотия (lošotija)state of being wicked
  • злина (zlina)wicked thing
Catalan dolenteria, malícia
  • dolenteriastate of being wicked
  • malíciastate of being wicked
Dutch boosheid
  • boosheidwicked thing
Finnish pahuus
  • pahuusstate of being wicked
French méchanceté, perversité
  • méchancetéstate of being wicked
  • perversitéstate of being wicked
  • iniquitéwicked thing
  • méchancetéwicked thing
  • mauvaise actionwicked thing
German Bosheit
  • Bosheitstate of being wicked
Hebrew רִשְׁעוּת
  • רִשְׁעוּתstate of being wicked
Irish áibhirseoireacht, coireacht
  • áibhirseoireachtstate of being wicked
  • coireachtstate of being wicked
  • colaístate of being wicked
  • díchúisstate of being wicked
  • lochtaílstate of being wicked
  • mallaitheachtstate of being wicked
  • urchóideachtstate of being wicked
Italian cattiveria
  • cattiveriastate of being wicked
Romanian răutate, perversitate
  • răutatestate of being wicked
  • perversitatestate of being wicked
  • ticăloșiestate of being wicked
Russian злоба
  • злоба (zloba)state of being wicked
Spanish maldad, perversidad
  • maldadstate of being wicked
  • perversidadstate of being wicked
  • perversiónstate of being wicked
  • maliciastate of being wicked
Tamil வில்லத்தனம், பொல்லாத்தனம்
  • வில்லத்தனம் (villattaṉam)state of being wicked
  • பொல்லாத்தனம் (pollāttaṉam)state of being wicked
Ukrainian злочести́вість
  • злочести́вість (zločestývistʹ)state of being wicked
Cite this entry
APA

wickedness. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wickedness

MLA

“wickedness.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wickedness. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wickedness,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wickedness.

Source: wickedness on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.