The word 嫉恶如仇 is formed by combining four characters: 嫉 meaning "to hate", 恶 meaning "evil", 如 meaning "like", and 仇 meaning "enemy". It literally structures as "hate evil like an enemy", where 嫉恶 functions as a verb-object pair ("hate evil") and 如仇 adds a comparative element ("like an enemy"), creating a simile that expresses intense aversion to wrongdoing.