iniquity

IPA/ɪˈnɪkwəti/
KK[ˌɪnˈɪkwɪti]IPA/ɪˈnɪkwəti/

iniquity — noun

  • iniquitysingular
  • iniquitiesplural

1. An act or situation that is extremely unjust and morally unacceptable — for exam

1.nounC1
Definition

An act or situation that is extremely unjust and morally unacceptable — for example, a corrupt official taking a bribe from a poor family, or a court letting the guilty walk free while the innocent are punished.

Example

The villagers called the land seizure an iniquity and began a protest.

pattern: call + something + an iniquity

Iris could not stay silent while such iniquities happened in her own neighbourhood.

plural: iniquities for specific acts

Common collocations
  • denounce an iniquity
  • expose iniquities
  • social iniquity
  • economic iniquity
  • great iniquity
Synonyms
  • injustice

    Broader and less dramatic; use for everyday unfairness (CEFR B2)

  • wrong

    Less formal and more general; can replace iniquity in casual contexts but loses the gravity (CEFR B1)

  • offence

    Legal tone; focuses on breaking a rule rather than the moral dimension (CEFR B2)

  • atrocity

    Stronger still; implies cruelty and violence (CEFR C1)

Antonyms
  • justice

    The state of being fair and reasonable (CEFR B1)

  • fairness

    Impartial treatment without favouritism (CEFR B1)

  • righteousness

    Morally correct behaviour (CEFR C1)

Grammar Patterns

a(n) + iniquity

iniquities (plural)

Usage Note

Countable in this sense — use a/an for a single act and iniquities for multiple. More dramatic and formal than injustice; reserve for truly extreme or systemic wrongs.

Common Mistakes

The company committed many iniquities against its workers.
The company subjected its workers to many injustices.
'iniquity' implies a deeper moral evil than 'injustice'; for everyday workplace unfairness, 'injustice' is more appropriate.
She felt the pay cut was a small iniquity.
She felt the pay cut was a small injustice.
'iniquity' is too strong for minor wrongs; use it only for grave or shocking unfairness.

2. The quality or state of being deeply and fundamentally evil, especially when und

2.nounC2
Definition

The quality or state of being deeply and fundamentally evil, especially when understood as a persistent moral condition of a person, a system, or a supernatural force — often used in religious, literary, or philosophical contexts.

Example

The novel explores the depths of human iniquity through its main villain.

collocation: depths of iniquity

Tariro warned that a life of iniquity would bring nothing but regret.

Common collocations
  • depths of iniquity
  • sink into iniquity
  • den of iniquity
  • path of iniquity
  • reign of iniquity
  • wallow in iniquity
Synonyms
  • wickedness

    More direct and slightly less formal than iniquity; common in everyday moral speech (CEFR B2)

  • evil

    Broader and more widely used; can describe both acts and characters (CEFR B2)

  • depravity

    Extreme moral corruption, often with a suggestion of perversity or decay (CEFR C1)

  • corruption

    Focuses on dishonesty and abuse of power, especially in institutions (CEFR B2)

Antonyms
  • virtue

    Behaviour showing high moral standards (CEFR B2)

  • goodness

    The quality of being kind and morally right (CEFR A2)

  • righteousness

    The quality of being morally right or justifiable (CEFR C1)

Grammar Patterns

quality/state of iniquity

path/world/depths of iniquity

Usage Note

Uncountable — do not use a/an or a plural form in this sense. Frequently appears with religious or moral framing (sin, evil) rather than legal or social terms.

Common Mistakes

He was punished for his iniquities.' (when meaning his wicked nature)
He was punished for his wickedness.
to describe a person's evil character, use 'wickedness' or 'depravity'; 'iniquities' in the plural is reserved for sense 1 (specific unfair acts).
The iniquity of his actions was clear.' (ambiguous)
The iniquity of his actions was clear.
this works only if the actions reveal a deep evil character rather than a single unfair act. If in doubt, specify: 'The iniquity of his corrupt scheme became obvious.'

Word family

  • iniquitous
    adjectiveC2
  • iniquitously
    adverbC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/2

These four nouns all describe morally bad qualities, but they differ in register and scope. Evil is the broadest and most common word — it describes any morally bad force, act, or character ("the problem of evil", "an evil plan") at CEFR B2. Wickedness is slightly more personal and active, suggesting someone who deliberately chooses to do cruel or harmful things ("the wickedness of the dictator's regime") at B2. Iniquity carries a formal, often religious or literary tone, and focuses on deep moral corruption — it is the least common of the four and typically appears in set phrases like "den of iniquity" or "depths of iniquity" (C2). Depravity is the strongest, implying complete moral decay and a loss of normal human decency ("a tale of human depravity") at C1. Choose iniquity when you want old-fashioned gravitas; choose wickedness for moral deliberation; choose depravity for the most extreme cases of corruption; and choose evil as your everyday, all-purpose term for what is morally bad.

wickedness ↗evil ↗depravity ↗iniquity ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • den of iniquity
  • deeds of iniquity
  • life of iniquity
  • state of iniquity

Phrases

  • sink into iniquity
  • wallow in iniquity
  • pay the price for one's iniquities

Prepositions

  • of iniquity

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

From Latin inīquitās, meaning 'unevenness, unfairness,' formed from in- ('not') + aequus ('equal, just'). The word shifted from describing unequal treatment to meaning 'wickedness' in Late Latin, and entered English in the 1300s through Old French iniquité. Originally a legal term for an unfair judgment, it gradually broadened to cover deep moral evil in religious and literary language.

First known use

14th century

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1