axis of evil

Meaning

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.
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.

Synonyms

Iraq

🇮🇶

Republic of Iraq

🇮🇶

Shia crescent

Translations

Achse des Bösen

as van het kwaad

asse della malvagità

axe du mal

eje del mal

axis mali

άξονας του κακού

Irak

🇮🇶

Irak

🇮🇶

Irac

Ἰράκ

Iraq

🇮🇶

Ιράκ

l’Iraq

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 by Portuguese scientist João Magueijo in 2005.