妖孽 (yāo niè) — (literary) unlucky omen, portent of disaster; calamity, catastrophe; evildoer, monster (used metaphorically for a malicious person)

Definition

A literary word for 'demon, evil spirit' — used for omens of disaster and, metaphorically, for a monstrous evildoer. Stronger and more archaic than everyday words like 坏人.

noun
(literary) unlucky omenportent of disastercalamitycatastropheevildoermonster (used metaphorically for a malicious person)

Examples

  • 妖孽
    Gǔ dài rén rèn wéi rì shí shì yāo niè de zhēng zhào.
    Ancient people regarded solar eclipses as portents of disaster.
  • 妖孽
    Nà chǎng zhàn zhēng dài lái de yāo niè ràng bǎi xìng kǔ bù kān yán.
    The calamities brought by that war made the people suffer unspeakably.
  • 妖孽
    Zhè ge tān guān jiǎn zhí shì shè huì yāo niè, rén rén tòng hèn.
    This corrupt official is a social monster, hated by everyone.

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