# the root of all evil

idiom · CEFR C1

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/the-root-of-all-evil
Updated: 2026-07-29

## Meaning

The underlying source of much wrongdoing — most often applied to money.

## Examples

- Greed, she said, is the root of all evil.
- People call money the root of all evil, though the original line blames the love of it, not the thing itself.
- He liked to quote that money is the root of all evil, cheerfully unaware that Paul had actually pinned the blame on the love of money — a distinction his own career rather proved.

## Origin

The phrase comes from Paul's first letter to Timothy, 6:10, and it is one of the most-misquoted lines in English. The popular short form — "money is the root of all evil" — is not what Paul wrote. His sentence is "the love of money is the root of all evil," and those three dropped words change the meaning entirely. Paul is not condemning money itself, which is a neutral tool, but the craving for it — greed as the impulse that leads people into ruin. The full verse goes on to describe those who, reaching after wealth, "erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." The clipped version has largely won out in everyday speech, so the phrase now floats between the two senses. Used carefully, the root of all evil points not at money but at the love of it — the appetite behind so much wrongdoing rather than the coins themselves.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.