evil twin

[ ee-vuhl twin ]

noun

1. a character in a work of fiction who is the evil identical twin, clone, or counterpart of another character:

   The actor plays two roles—the protagonist and his evil twin, who serves as an antagonist for much of the film.

2. any person or thing that is the negative counterpart of another person or thing:

   You may find yourself haunted by hope's evil twin, regret, wondering why you ever bought the stock in the first place.

3. Computers. a secret wireless internet access point set up near a legitimate one in order to gather personal or sensitive information.

evil twin

noun

1. a hidden wireless internet access point operating near a legitimate one, but which is actually used by cybercriminals to divert sensitive information such as account numbers and passwords

Word History and Origins

Origin of evil twin¹

First recorded in 1910–15; 2005–10 evil twin fordef 3

Example Sentences

Per the original Marvel comics, Cassandra is the evil twin of Professor Charles Xavier from the “X-Men” series, and she appears to possess mind-controlling powers.

From Los Angeles Times

Physicists know that for every fundamental particle in nature there is an antiparticle — an evil twin of identical mass but endowed with equal and opposite characteristics like charge and spin.

From New York Times

The 42-tap house features the cult favorite Pliny the Elder double IPA from Russian River Brewing and gems from well-regarded breweries such as Evil Twin and de Garde Brewing.

From Seattle Times

The woman looks over to the driver’s seat, and — smash cut — she’s there too, or rather, her evil twin is, with a sinister look, as the music peaks.

From Los Angeles Times

Lead would melt on our evil twin’s surface because of its overwhelmingly thick atmospheric blanket of carbon dioxide; it’s not exactly an Earth-like planet.

From Scientific American