The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word MALIGNANT
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
M
A
L
I
G
N
A
N
T
More clues leading to the result MALIGNANT
- Hostile West African country gets biting insect around November
- Destructive insect crossing north African country further up
- Evil glint – and a man goes to pieces
- Bad name acquired by head worker good at heart
- Venomous African country midge bites unknown number
- Seeking to harm others, Indian gardener gets an insect around the nuthead
- Country fly checks direction and spreads all over
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Evil" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case evil = malignant.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does MALIGNANT mean?
MALIGNANT noun- A deviant; a person who is hostile or destructive to society.
- A person who fought for Charles I in the English Civil War.
- Harmful, malevolent, injurious.
- Tending to produce death; threatening a fatal issue.