evil

adj 1: morally bad or wrong; "evil purposes"; "an evil influence";

"evil deeds" [syn: {wicked}] [ant: {good}]

2: having the nature of vice [syn: {depraved}, {vicious}]

3: tending to cause great harm [syn: {harmful}, {injurious}]

4: having or exerting a malignant influence; "malevolent

stars"; "a malefic force" [syn: {malefic}, {malevolent}, {malign}]

n 1: morally objectionable behavior [syn: {immorality}, {wickedness},

{iniquity}]

2: that which causes harm or destruction or misfortune: "the

evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft

interred with their bones"- Shakespeare

3: the quality of being morally wrong in principle or practice:

"attempts to explain the origin of evil in the world"

[syn: {evilness}] [ant: {good}, {good}]

evil

As used by a {hacker}, implies that some system, program,

person, or institution is sufficiently maldesigned as to be

not worth the bother of dealing with. Unlike the adjectives

in the cretinous, {losing}, {brain-damaged} series, "evil"

does not imply incompetence or bad design, but rather a set of

goals or design criteria fatally incompatible with the

speaker's. This usage is more an aesthetic and engineering

judgment than a moral one in the mainstream sense. "We

thought about adding a {Blue Glue} interface but decided it

was too evil to deal with." "{TECO} is neat, but it can be

pretty evil if you're prone to typos." Often pronounced with

the first syllable lengthened, as /eeee'vil/.

Compare {evil and rude}.

[{Jargon File}]

(1994-12-12)