devil
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devil¹
- /ˈdɛvəl/
- [ˈdɛvəl] ~ [ˈdɛvl̩]
- /ˈdɛvɪl/
- [ˈdɛvɪl] dated, rare
Rhymes with -ɛvəl
Where it comes from
From Middle English devil, devel, deovel, from Old English dēofol, from Proto-West Germanic *diubul, from Latin diabolus, ultimately from Ancient Greek διάβολος (diábolos, “false accuser, slanderer”), also as "Satan" (in Jewish/Christian usage, translating Biblical Hebrew שָׂטָן (śātān)), from διαβάλλω (diabállō, “to slander”), literally “to throw across”, from διά (diá, “through, across”) + βάλλω (bállō, “throw”). The Old English word was probably adopted under influence of Latin diabolus (itself from the Greek). Other Germanic languages adopted the word independently: compare Saterland Frisian Düüwel (“devil”), West Frisian duvel (“devil”), Dutch duivel, duvel (“devil”), German Low German Düvel (“devil”), German Teufel (“devil”), Bavarian Teifl (“devil”), Danish djævel (“devil”), Swedish djävul (“devil”) (older: djefvul, Old Swedish diævul, Old Norse djǫfull). Doublet of diable, diablo, and diabolus.
proper noun the devil · Devil · davil · debbil · diuel · divel
-
The chief devil; Satan.
Similar: Aduwallah, Adversary, Al-Shaytaan, Antichrist, archfiend, Ash-Shaytan, Azazel, Beast, Beelzebub, bogey, cosmocrat, deceiver · Opposite: God
noun devils · davil · debbil · diuel · divel · divil
- An evil creature, the objectification of a hostile and destructive force.
- A man with red or orange skin and a pair of horns on his head, a pointed goatee, and a long tail, who carries a pitchfork, represents evil, and is portrayed to children as a boogeyman who punishes bad behavior.
-
The bad part of the conscience; the opposite to the angel.
The devil in me wants to let him suffer.
Opposite: angel, conscience
-
A wicked or naughty person, or one who harbors reckless, spirited energy, especially in a mischievous way; usually said of a young child.
Those two kids are devils in a toy store.
Similar: imp, rascal, scamp, scoundrel · Opposite: angel, saint
-
A thing that is awkward or difficult to understand or do.
That math problem was a devil.
Similar: bastard, bitch, bugger, stinker · Opposite: cakewalk, piece of cake
- Hell. What in the devil is that?
- A person, especially a man; used to express a particular opinion of him, usually in the phrases poor devil and lucky devil. 'Well, I'm damned,' said Bond. 'Of course that old devil M never told me. He just gives one the facts. Never tells one any good news. I suppose he thinks it might influence one's decision to take a case or not.'
-
A printer's assistant.
For he will not leave his listener to dwell upon sorrow when the print office beckons and he can show you what a good little devil he became.
Similar: printer's devil
- A poltergeist that haunts printing works.
- A lawyer’s assistant.
- A dust devil. The formation of tornados and water-spouts is very probably identical with that of dust-storms and "devils," viz., a sudden disturbance of the vertical equilibrium of the atmosphere, where by an upward rush of air is generated, which rapidly becomes spiral.
- A barren, unproductive and unused area. devil strip
- A dish, as a bone with the meat, broiled and excessively peppered; a grill with Cayenne pepper. Men and women busy in baking, broiling, roasting oysters, and preparing devils on the gridiron.
- A machine for tearing or cutting rags, cotton, etc., as used in the production of mungo or shoddy. The woollen things are torn to pieces by a machine having spiked rollers (termed a devil), cleansed, and the fibre spun with a certain proportion of new wool, the yarn being afterwards woven into the full-bodied but flimsy fabric termed shoddy.
- A Tasmanian devil. He removes his food, water, and torch from the pack and then pushes it to the far end of the tent – no devil is going to rip his pack apart tonight.
- An endurance event where riders who fall behind are periodically eliminated.
- Ellipsis of devil seam (“the seam between garboard strake and the keel, on wooden boats”).
verb devils · deviling · devilling · deviled · devilled
- To make like a devil; to invest with the character of a devil.
-
To annoy or bother.
Similar: bedevil, aggravate, annoy, nettle, rankle, ruffle, sting, burn someone's ass, antagonize, bother, disgruntle, botherate
- To work as a ‘devil’; to work for a lawyer or writer without fee or recognition. He did not repeat the scathing estimate of her character by Quatrefages, who at that time spent one afternoon a week devilling at the Consulate, keeping the petty-cash box in order.
- To ghostwrite; to author while working as a ‘devil’. Didn't secretaries write the speeches of Parliamentary "big-bugs"? Weren't the opinions of eminent lawyers often written by their juniors, read over and signed? Weren't briefs and pleadings devilled?
- To prepare (food) with spices, making it spicy […]; you could watch a buckwheat pancake whirled into existence under your eyes and see fowls' legs devilled, peppered, grilled, and tormented till they lost all semblance of the original Mariposa chicken.
- To finely grind (cooked ham or other meat) with spices and condiments.
- To prepare (shelled halved boiled eggs, as a sidedish) by removing the yolks, adding condiments and spices to them, and placing that mixture back into (the halved eggs' whites) to be served. She's going to devil four dozen eggs for the picnic.
- To shred fabric into its fibres for recycling, as in the production of mungo or shoddy. Tailors' clippings and remnants of fine woollen goods, such as broadcloth, etc., are devilled and spun into yarn for making cloth of nicer quality, called mungo.
Devil²
Where it comes from
See devil.
proper noun the Devil
-
The chief devil; Satan.
Similar: Aduwallah, Adversary, Al-Shaytaan, Antichrist, archfiend, Ash-Shaytan, Azazel, Beast, Beelzebub, bogey, cosmocrat, deceiver
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: demon, dickens, old nick, fiend, daimon, daemon, the devil, satan, ogre, beelzebub, monster, nark, hellion, get at, rag, rile
Translations
Every language
name the devil: the chief devil
| Español | diablo |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 악마 angma |
| 日本語 | 悪魔 akuma, サタン satan |
| 中文 | 魔王 mówáng, 惡魔 /恶魔 èmó, 魔鬼 móguǐ |
| हिन्दी | शैतान śaitān |
| Kiswahili | Ibilisi, Shetani |
| Português | Diabo, Satã, Satanás |
| Français | Diable, Satan |
| Deutsch | Teufel, Satan |
| Italiano | diavolo |
| Ελληνικά | Διάβολος Diávolos |
| Română | Diavolul, Satana, Necuratul, Scaraoțchi, Aghiuță |
| Русский | дья́вол dʹjávol |
| العربية | اَلشَّيْطَان aš-šayṭān, إِبْلِيس ʔiblīs |
| עברית | שָׂטָן śāṭān |
noun evil creature
| Español | diablo, demonio, ñuzco, shapshico, mengue |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 악마 angma, 악귀 akgwi |
| 日本語 | 悪魔 akuma, 鬼 oni, 悪鬼 akki |
| 中文 | 惡魔 /恶魔 èmó, 魔鬼 móguǐ, 邪魔 xiémó, 惡鬼 /恶鬼 èguǐ |
| हिन्दी | शैतान śaitān, दानव dānav, राक्षस rākṣas, देव dev, इबलीस iblīs |
| Kiswahili | ibilisi, shetani |
| Português | diabo |
| Français | diable |
| Deutsch | Teufel |
| Italiano | diavolo |
| Ελληνικά | διάβολος diávolos |
| Română | drac, diavol, satană, demon, michiduță |
| Русский | чёрт čort, дья́вол dʹjávol, бес bes, сатана́ sataná |
| Tiếng Việt | ma, quỷ, ác ma, ác thần |
| العربية | شَيْطَان šayṭān, إِبْلِيس ʔiblīs |
| עברית | שֵׁד shed, שָׂטָן satán |
noun bad part of the conscience
| Português | diabo |
|---|---|
| Français | diable |
| Deutsch | Teufel |
| Ελληνικά | δαίμονας daímonas |
| עברית | יצר הרע yétser ha'rá |
noun wicked or naughty person
| Español | diablo, demonio |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 魔王 mówáng |
| Português | diabo |
| Français | diable |
| Deutsch | Teufel, Teufelin |
| Ελληνικά | δαίμονας daímonas, διάβολος diávolos, ζιζάνιο zizánio |
| Русский | чёрт čort, дья́вол dʹjávol |
| עברית | מַזִּיק mazík |
noun thing that is awkward or difficult to understand
| 中文 | 家伙 jiāhuǒ, 傢伙 jiāhuo |
|---|---|
| Русский | чертовщи́на čertovščína, дья́вольщина dʹjávolʹščina |
noun euphemistically, with an article: Hell (as an intensifier)
| Español | diablo, demonio |
|---|---|
| Português | diabo |
| Français | diable |
| Deutsch | Teufel |
| Русский | чёрт čort, дья́вол dʹjávol |
| עברית | עזאזל azazél |
noun person, especially a man; used to express a particular opinion of him
| Français | type |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Teufel |
| Ελληνικά | διάβολος diávolos |
| Română | drac |
verb annoy or bother
| Deutsch | reizen, ärgern, aufbringen, plagen, schikanieren |
|---|
Talk about this word "devil." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/devil. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. devil. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/devil "devil." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/devil.Cite this
@misc{devil_2026,
title = {devil},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/devil},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
