zloy

Zloy is a transliteration of the Slavic adjective злый/злой, used in Russian and other Slavic languages to mean "evil" or "bad." In English-language contexts, zloy is often encountered when referring to the word itself or when discussing borrowed terms from Slavic languages. The term denotes morally bad or malicious qualities, actions, or beings.

In Russian, the forms are masculine злoй (zloy), feminine злaя (zlaya), neuter злoe (zloye), and plural злые (zlye). The Polish cognate is zły, with a similar meaning. The etymology connects to common Slavic roots associated with negativity and harm, and cognates appear across multiple Slavic languages.

Usage and context: The word is commonly used to describe villains, malevolent forces, or morally reprehensible behavior in literature, folklore, and media. It may also appear in translated or transliterated titles and character names to evoke a Slavic or dark thematic effect. As a transliterated form, zloy is not typically a standalone loanword in English, but a rendering of the native term for discussion or stylistic purposes.

See also: Evil; Zły; Злой.