evilly

IPA/ˈiːvəli/
IPA/ˈiːvəli/

evilly — adverb

1. in a deliberately cruel or darkly harmful way that shows pleasure in causing fea

1.adverbB2
Definition

in a deliberately cruel or darkly harmful way that shows pleasure in causing fear, pain, or trouble.

Example

The witch smiled evilly as the bridge began to disappear behind the children.

smiled evilly: expression showing open malice

Ramón laughed evilly when he switched the team signs before the race.

laughed evilly: enjoying a harmful trick

Common collocations
  • smile evilly
  • laugh evilly
  • grin evilly
  • look evilly at
  • speak evilly to
Synonyms
  • wickedly

    very close in meaning; more common in stories and dramatic description

  • maliciously

    more formal; stresses a wish to harm someone on purpose

  • cruelly

    focuses more on causing pain than on dark enjoyment

  • spitefully

    stresses petty anger or revenge rather than general evil

Antonyms
  • kindly

    with warmth and care rather than malice

  • gently

    with softness and no wish to hurt

Grammar Patterns

verb + evilly

look/smile/laugh + evilly

Usage Note

Most often used with verbs of looking, smiling, laughing, or speaking when a story wants to show obvious malice. In everyday real-life contexts, 'cruelly' or 'maliciously' is usually more natural.

Common Mistakes

The printer worked evilly all morning.
The printer worked badly all morning.
'Evilly' suggests harmful intent, not ordinary poor performance.
The room was evilly cold.
The room was bitterly cold.
'Evilly' describes malicious behaviour, not an unpleasant condition.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adverb/1

'Evilly' is a dramatic word for acting with open moral darkness or delight in doing harm. 'Wickedly' is the nearest everyday match, especially in stories, but it can also sound playful in some contexts. 'Maliciously' is more formal and focuses on intent: someone harms another person on purpose, often through a plan or false action. 'Cruelly' stresses the pain caused to the victim more than the actor's dark mood. 'Spitefully' is narrower and usually grows from anger, jealousy, or revenge over a small personal conflict. A villain in a fairy tale may smile evilly, an office worker may maliciously delete a file, a bully may cruelly mock a classmate, and an angry neighbour may spitefully damage a garden fence.

evilly ↗wickedly ↗maliciously ↗cruelly ↗spitefully ↗

Common collocations

Phrases

  • smile evilly
  • laugh evilly
  • grin evilly
  • look evilly at someone

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Formed in English from the adjective 'evil' plus the adverb suffix '-ly'. 'Evil' goes back to Old English 'yfel', a word used for what is morally bad, harmful, or unlucky. Adding '-ly' created the adverb for describing actions done in that dark or harmful way.