Definition

Noun: - Social evil / corrupt practice: A harmful custom, activity, or behavior that is considered morally wrong and damaging to society. It refers to widespread vice or a detrimental societal phenomenon.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Chính quyền đang nỗ lực bài trừ các tệ đoan xã hội. (The government is trying to eradicate social evils.)
  • Cờ bạc là một tệ đoan cần được loại bỏ. (Gambling is a social evil that needs to be eliminated.)
  • Mọi tệ đoan trong bộ máy hành chính phải bị lên án. (All corrupt practices within the administrative apparatus must be condemned.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is often used in formal, journalistic, or administrative contexts to discuss serious societal problems requiring collective or governmental action.
• It can be used to describe both non-criminal but harmful societal habits (e.g., superstition) and illegal, corrupt activities.

Variants and Related Words

• Tệ nạn (n): social evil, scourge. Often used interchangeably with "tệ đoan," but "tệ nạn" can sometimes imply a more ingrained or addictive problem (e.g., drug addiction).
  • Tệ nạn ma túy là mối nguy lớn. (Drug addiction is a great danger.)

Synonyms

• Social vice: A practice or habit considered immoral or degrading in a society.
• Societal ill: A problem that causes harm within a society.
• Corruption: Dishonest or fraudulent conduct, especially by those in power.

Related Idioms

• Bài trừ tệ đoan: to eradicate/eliminate social evils.
  • Chiến dịch bài trừ tệ đoan đã được phát động. (A campaign to eradicate social evils has been launched.)

noun

1. social evil, corrupt practices