Meanings
plural wickednesses
- 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 227d2 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 2Derived 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 InsiderSynonyms: dishonour, indecency, unrighteousness, dishonour, immorality, improbity, impropriety, indecency
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe state of being wicked; evil disposition; immorality.
nounA wicked or sinful thing or act; morally bad or objectionable behaviour.
More synonyms by meaning
nounthe quality of being disgusting to the senses or emotions
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Englishwikkednesse
- Englishwickedness
Inherited from Middle English wikkednesse, wikkednes, equivalent to wicked + -ness.
More words from Middle English
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
wickedness. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wickedness
“wickedness.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wickedness. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wickedness,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wickedness.
Source: wickedness on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.