evil eye

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)
evil eye
    n 1: a look that is believed to have the power of inflicting
         harm
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Evil \E*vil\ ([=e]"v'l) a. [OE. evel, evil, ifel, uvel, AS.
   yfel; akin to OFries, evel, D. euvel, OS. & OHG. ubil, G.
   ["u]bel, Goth. ubils, and perh. to E. over.]
   1. Having qualities tending to injury and mischief; having a
      nature or properties which tend to badness; mischievous;
      not good; worthless or deleterious; poor; as, an evil
      beast; and evil plant; an evil crop.
      [1913 Webster]

            A good tree can not bring forth evil fruit. --Matt.
                                                  vii. 18.
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   2. Having or exhibiting bad moral qualities; morally corrupt;
      wicked; wrong; vicious; as, evil conduct, thoughts, heart,
      words, and the like.
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            Ah, what a sign it is of evil life,
            When death's approach is seen so terrible. --Shak.
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   3. Producing or threatening sorrow, distress, injury, or
      calamity; unpropitious; calamitous; as, evil tidings; evil
      arrows; evil days.
      [1913 Webster]

            Because he hath brought up an evil name upon a
            virgin of Israel.                     --Deut. xxii.
                                                  19.
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            The owl shrieked at thy birth -- an evil sign.
                                                  --Shak.
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            Evil news rides post, while good news baits.
                                                  --Milton.
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   {Evil eye}, an eye which inflicts injury by some magical or
      fascinating influence. It is still believed by the
      ignorant and superstitious that some persons have the
      supernatural power of injuring by a look.
      [1913 Webster]

            It almost led him to believe in the evil eye. --J.
                                                  H. Newman.

   {Evil speaking}, speaking ill of others; calumny;
      censoriousness.

   {The evil one}, the Devil; Satan.
      [1913 Webster]

   Note: Evil is sometimes written as the first part of a
         compound (with or without a hyphen). In many cases the
         compounding need not be insisted on. Examples: Evil
         doer or evildoer, evil speaking or evil-speaking, evil
         worker, evil wishing, evil-hearted, evil-minded.

   Syn: Mischieveous; pernicious; injurious; hurtful;
        destructive; wicked; sinful; bad; corrupt; perverse;
        wrong; vicious; calamitous.
        [1913 Webster]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Evil eye \E"vil eye`\
   See {Evil eye} under {Evil}, a.
   [1913 Webster]
    
from Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
Evil eye
(Prov. 23:6), figuratively, the envious or covetous. (Comp.
Deut. 15:9; Matt. 20:15.)
    
from Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
56 Moby Thesaurus words for "evil eye":
      Jonah, anathema, bad blood, bad influence, bad temper, bad will,
      ban, bedroom eyes, blasphemy, blighting glance, cantrip, charm,
      come-hither look, commination, curse, damnation, denunciation,
      enchantment, evil disposition, evil genius, evil star,
      excommunication, execration, exorcism, fulmination, gape, gaze,
      glad eye, glamour, glare, glower, glowering look, goggle, hex,
      hoodoo, ill nature, ill will, ill wind, ill-disposedness,
      imprecation, jinx, magic spell, malevolence, malevolent influence,
      malison, malocchio, ogle, penetrating look, proscription, spell,
      stare, thundering, voodoo, wanga, weird, whammy

    

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