Dictionary

axis of evil en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Coined by American political commentator David Frum in 2002 and first used publicly by President George W. Bush in the 2002 State of the Union Address. Possibly from a historical analogy to the German-Italian-Japanese axis. Extended to astrophysics by Portuguese scientist João Magueijo in 2005.

Meanings

1. A group of states accused by George W. Bush of sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction, originally defined as Iran, Iraq, and North Korea.
   • Communist China is on a mission for dominance. At the helm of the New Axis of Evil, China has indicated they will invade independent countries and destroy democratic leadership to achieve that end. My recent visit to Taiwan made it abundantly clear that the leaders in Taiwan want the United States and our allies to stand with them as they fight to keep their independence. 2022 September 9, Marsha Blackburn, “We must stand with Taiwan”, in Tullahoma News, Tullahoma, Tennessee, archived from the original on 11 Sep 2022:
   • I discussed Iraq with Gerhard during his visit to the White House on January 31, 2002. In my State of the Union address two days earlier, I had outlined the threats posed by Iraq, Iran, and North Korea. “States like these, and their terrorist allies, constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world,” I said. The media seized on the phrase “axis of evil.” They took the line to mean that the three countries had formed an alliance. That missed the point. The axis I referred to was the link between the governments that pursued WMD and the terrorists who could use those weapons. There was a larger point in the speech that no one could miss: I was serious about dealing with Iraq. 2010, George W. Bush, Decision Points, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 233:
2. An anomaly in the temperature of the cosmic microwave background as the result of a preferential axis which may have shaped the development of the universe.

Forms

Relateds

socialism · dark flow · communism · CMB cold spot · axis of resistance (used by supporters of Iran) · Islamism

Synonyms

AOE

Translations (34)

fa محور شرارت (states supposedly sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction) · ka ბოროტების ღერძი (states supposedly sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction) · lv ļaunuma ass (states supposedly sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction) · fi pahan akseli (states supposedly sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction) · es eje del mal (states supposedly sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction) · id poros kejahatan (states supposedly sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction) · ar مِحْوَر اَلشَّرّ (states supposedly sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction) · sh osovina zla (states supposedly sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction) · vi liên minh diệt vong (states supposedly sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction) · el άξονας του κακού (states supposedly sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction) · pt eixo do mal (states supposedly sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction) · vi liên minh ma quỷ (states supposedly sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction) · la axis mali (states supposedly sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction) · ja 悪の枢軸 (states supposedly sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction) · ru ось зла (states supposedly sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction) · it asse della malvagità (states supposedly sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction) · cmn 邪惡軸心 /邪恶轴心 (states supposedly sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction) · sh осовина зла (states supposedly sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction) · de Achse des Bösen (states supposedly sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction) · uk вісь зла (states supposedly sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction) · nl as van het kwaad (states supposedly sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction) · vi trục ma quỷ (states supposedly sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction) · th แกนแห่งความชั่วร้าย (states supposedly sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction) · tr şeytan ekseni (states supposedly sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction) · pl oś zła (states supposedly sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction) · fr axe du mal (states supposedly sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction) · az şər oxu (states supposedly sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction) · cy echel y fall (states supposedly sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction) · mk оска на злото (states supposedly sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction) · ko 악의 축 (states supposedly sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction) · he צִיר הַרֶשַׁע (states supposedly sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction) · it asse del male (states supposedly sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction) · cs osa zla (states supposedly sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction) · sv ondskans axelmakter (states supposedly sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction)

wikipedia: 2002 State of the Union Address · wikipedia: George W. Bush