devil Hear it!

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devil definition

devil (dev′əl)

noun

  1. Theol.
    1. the chief evil spirit, a supernatural being subordinate to, and the foe of, God, and the tempter of human beings; Satan: typically depicted as a man with horns, a tail, and cloven feet: with the
    2. any evil spirit; demon
  2. a very wicked or malevolent person
  3. a person who is mischievous, energetic, reckless, etc.
  4. an unlucky, unhappy person that poor devil
  5. anything that is difficult or is hard to operate, control, understand, etc.
  6. printer's devil
  7. any of various machines for tearing things, as paper or rags, to bits

Etymology: ME devel < OE deofol < LL(Ec) diabolus < Gr diabolos, slanderous (in LXX, Satan; in N.T., devil) < diaballein, to slander, lit., throw across < dia-, across + ballein, to throw: see ball

transitive verb deviled -·iled or devilled -·illed, deviling -·il·ing or devilling -·il·ling

  1. Etymology: from the notion of heat

    to prepare (food, often chopped food) with hot seasoning deviled ham
  2. to tear up (rags, etc.) with a special machine
  3. ☆ to annoy; torment; tease
devil Idioms

a devil of a

an extreme example of a

between the devil and the deep (blue) sea

between equally unpleasant alternatives

give the devil his due

to acknowledge the ability or success of even a wicked or unpleasant person

go to the devil

to fall into bad habits; degenerate morally: used also in the imperative as an expression of anger or annoyance

play the devil with

Informal to cause to go awry; upset

raise the devil

  1. to conjure up the devil
  2. Informal to make a commotion or have a boisterous good time

the devil!

Informal an exclamation of anger, surprise, negation, etc.: often in such phrases as the devil you did!, meaning “did you really?”

the devil to pay

trouble as a consequence

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

idioms devil idiom

devil Synonyms

devil

n.

  1. The power opposed to God

    Satan, demon, fiend, archenemy of God, powers of evil, powers of darkness, imp, mischiefmaker, Lucifer, Beelzebub, Prince of Darkness, the archfiend, fallen angel, trickster, hellhound, incubus, succubus, evil spirit, evil principle, error, sin, god of this world, supreme spirit of evil, Asmodeus, Mammon, Moloch, Diabolus, Azazel, Angra Mainyu, Ahriman, Eblis, Belial, Baal, Samael, Hades, Abaddon, Apollyon, Set, Mephistopheles, Lilith, diabolical force, satanic force, evil genius, jinni, dybbuk, goblin, the Deuce*, the Old Boy*, Harry*, Old Nick*, Old Scratch*, the Tempter, the Old One, the Wicked One, author of evil, the Foul Fiend, the common enemy, shadow of shadows, Evil One, the Adversary; see also evil 1, witch.

    Antonyms angel*, seraph*, God. *

  2. A vicious or mischievous person

    villain, renegade, scamp; see beast 2, rascal.

between the devil and the deep blue sea

desperate, in a quandary, in difficulty, between a rock and a hard place*; see in trouble 1 at trouble, troubled 1.

give the devil his due*

give one credit, give credit where credit is due, recognize; see acknowledge 2.

go to the devil*

  1. degenerate, fall into bad habits, go to pot*; see decay, fail 1.

  2. go to hell, damn you, be damned;

raise the devil*

cause trouble, riot, be boisterous, be unruly, revel; see also celebrate 3, rage 1.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

devil Usage Examples

Adjective modifier

  • cunning: There are cunning devils out there that are constantly coming up with new ways to invade your privacy.

Converse of subject

  • tempt: After Jesus ' Baptism he was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.

Adjective modifier

  • Tasmanian: The Tasmanian devil looks a small cuddly black dog from a distance.

Modifies a noun

  • worshipper: There are other types of devil worshipper, the death metal types, who haven't really thought about the concepts involved at all!

Noun used with modifier

  • spit: We had a cat many years ago in Baton Rouge that was " playing " with a spit devil like cats play with lizards.

Possessives

  • scabious: Some such as fairy flax, devil's bit scabious and sneezewort are due to seed introductions.

Preposition: with

  • horn: Men dream of a devil with horns and hoofs, an obscene monster who tempts the depraved to acts of atrocity or shame.
devil usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

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"devil." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/devil>

APA Style

devil. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/devil

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