social evil

American  

noun

1. anything detrimental to a society or its citizens, as alcoholism, organized crime, etc.

2. prostitution.

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Etymology

Origin of social evil

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

"He agreed that it was a social evil," she told me, adding that it made her think that he was different from the others she had met so far.

From BBC • Jul. 3, 2023

“In the burning of Judas, social evil becomes laughable.”

From Seattle Times • Apr. 8, 2023

In the new book, Cosby weaves another social evil, homophobia, into his speeding narrative.

From Washington Post • Jul. 2, 2021

There are clip-clop ole West numbers, solemn hymns of uplift and lamentation and sardonic Brechtian ditties of social evil.

From New York Times • Jun. 12, 2017

In that case they have died a vicarious death which helps to redeem the rest from a social evil, and anyone who utilizes their suffering for that end, shows his reverence for their death.

From The Social Principles of Jesus by Rauschenbusch, Walter