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ef; especially, the state of being convicted of sin, or by one's conscience. To call good evil, and evil good, against the conviction of their own consciences. Swift. And did you presently fall under the power of this conviction Bunyan.

The policy or practice of transporting convicts to penal settlements. "The evils of convictism." W. Howitt.

ne, red limestone. [Prov. Eng.] -- Corn violet (Bot.), a species of Campanula. -- Corn weevil. (Zoöl.) (a) A small weevil which causes great injury to grain. (b) In America, a weevil (Sphenophorus zeæ) which attacks the stalk of maize near the root, often doing great damage. See Grain weevil, under Weevil.…

To change from good to bad; to vitiate; to deprave; to pervert; to debase; to defile. Evil communications corrupt good manners. 1. Cor. xv. 33.

To shelter, as from evil or danger; to protect; to defend; as, the cavalry covered the retreat. His calm and blameless life Does with substantial blessedness abound, And the soft wings of peace cover him round. Cowley.

usly wrinkled. Skelton. The flames through all the casements pushing forth, Like red-not devils crinkled into snakes. Mrs. Browning.

To complain; especially, to grumble; to forebode evil; to utter complaints or forebodings habitually. Marat . . . croaks with reasonableness. Carlyle.

ne who croaks, murmurs, grumbles, or complains unreasonably; one who habitually forebodes evil.

f the cross with the hand or finger, as a means of conferring blessing or preserving from evil, is very old. Schaff-Herzog Encyc. Before the cross has waned the crescent's ray. Sir W. Scott. Tis where the cross is preached. Cowper.

Calling for notice; compelling attention; notorious; heinous; as, a crying evil. Too much fondness for meditative retirement is not the crying sin of our modern Christianity. I. Taylor.

One of a large group of beetles (Rhynchophora) of many genera; -- called also weevils, snout beetles, billbeetles, and billbugs. Many of the species are very destructive, as the plum curculio, the corn, grain, and rice weevils, etc.

Pertaining to the Curculionideæ, or weevil tribe.

Means of the removal of disease or evil; that which heals; a remedy; a restorative. Cold, hunger, prisons, ills without a cure. Dryden. The proper cure of such prejudices. Bp. Hurd.

To call upon divine or supernatural power to send injury upon; to imprecate evil upon; to execrate. Thou shalt not . . . curse the ruler of thy people. Ex. xxii. 28. Ere sunset I'll make thee curse the deed. Shak.

The state of being under a curse or of being doomed to execration or to evil.

its quickness in diving; -- called also dapchick, dobchick, dipchick, didapper, dobber, devil-diver, hell-diver, and pied-billed grebe.

Exposure to injury, loss, pain, or other evil; peril; risk; insecurity.

Foreboding evil; gloomy; jealous; suspicious. More dark and dark our woes. Shak. A deep melancholy took possesion of him, and gave a dark tinge to all his views of human nature. Macaulay. There is, in every true woman-s heart, a spark of heavenly fire, which beams and blazes in the dark hour of adversity. W. Irving.…

To make foul; to sully; to tarnish. I must not think there are Evils enough to darken all his goodness. Shak.

nce, wickedness; impurity. Men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. John. iii. 19. Pursue these sons of darkness: drive them out From all heaven's bounds. Milton.