wickedness
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English
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English wikkednesse, wikkednes, equivalent to wicked + -ness.
Pronunciation
Noun
wickedness (countable and uncountable, plural wickednesses)
- The state of being wicked; evil disposition; immorality.
- 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 Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, , page 84, column 2:
- 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: […]
- 2005, Plato, translated by Lesley Brown, Sophist, page 227d:
- We speak of wickedness as something in the soul different from virtue.
- A wicked or sinful thing or act; morally bad or objectionable behaviour.
Quotations
- 1611, The Holy Bible, (King James Version), London: Robert Barker, , →OCLC, Genesis 6:5:
- And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Translations
state of being wicked
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wicked thing
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References
- “wickedness”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “wickedness”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.