dev·il (d v  l)n.1. often Devil In many religions, the major personified spirit of evil, ruler of Hell, and foe of God. Used with the. 2. A subordinate evil spirit; a demon. 3. A wicked or malevolent person. 4. A person: a handsome devil; the poor devil. 5. An energetic, mischievous, daring, or clever person. 6. Printing A printer's devil. 7. A device or machine, especially one having teeth or spikes and used for tearing. 8. An outstanding example, especially of something difficult or bad: has a devil of a temper. 9. A severe reprimand or expression of anger: gave me the devil for cutting class. 10. Informal Used as an intensive: Who the devil do you think you are? tr.v. dev·iled or dev·illed, dev·il·ing or dev·il·ling, dev·ils 1. To season (food) heavily. 2. To annoy, torment, or harass. 3. To tear up (cloth or rags) in a toothed machine. Idioms: between the devil and the deep blue sea Between two equally unacceptable choices. full of the devil Very energetic, mischievous, daring, or clever. give the devil his due To give credit to a disagreeable or malevolent person. go to the devil1. To be unsuccessful; fail. 2. To become depraved. 3. Used in the imperative to express anger or impatience. play the devil with To upset or ruin. the devil take the hindmost Let each person follow self-interest, leaving others to fare as they may. the devil to pay Trouble to be faced as a result of an action: There'll be the devil to pay if you allow the piglets inside the house.
[Middle English devel, from Old English d ofol, from Latin diabolus, from Late Greek diabolos, from Greek, slanderer, from diaballein, to slander : dia-, dia- + ballein, to hurl; see gwel- in Indo-European roots.] |
devil Noun 1. Theol the Devil the chief spirit of evil and enemy of God 2. any evil spirit 3. a person regarded as wicked 4. a person: lucky devil 5. a person regarded as daring: be a devil! 6. Informal something difficult or annoying 7. between the devil and the deep blue sea between equally undesirable alternatives 8. give the devil his due to acknowledge the talent or success of an unpleasant person 9. talk of the devil! used when an absent person who has been the subject of conversation arrives unexpectedly 10. the devil used as an exclamation to show surprise or annoyance: what the devil is she doing here? Verb [-illing, -illed] or US [-iling, -iled] 1. to prepare (food) by coating with a highly flavoured spiced mixture 2. Chiefly Brit to do routine literary work for a lawyer or author [Greek diabolos enemy, accuser]
Devila person who denies the existence of the devil. 1. belief in or worship of the devil.
2. Theology. an action aided or prompted by the devil; sorcery; witchcraft. — diabolist, n. 1. the study of the devil.
2. devil lore. the beliefs of the Izedis, a Mesopotamian sect said to worship the devil. Also Yezdism, Yezidism. — Izedi, Yezdi, Yezidi, n. belief in the existence of only one devil. Cf. polydiabolism. a Gnostic doctrine that the material world expresses the personality of Satan. the belief that many devils exist. Cf. monodiabolism. 1. the worship of Satan or evil powers.
2. a parody of Christian ceremonies in which the devil is worshiped. — Satanist, n. the appearance of Satan on earth. Izedism.
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms | Noun | 1. |  Devil - (Judeo-Christian and Islamic religions) chief spirit of evil and adversary of God; tempter of mankind; master of Hellfaith, religion, religious belief - a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny; "he lost his faith but not his morality" Mohammedanism, Muhammadanism, Muslimism, Islam, Islamism - the monotheistic religious system of Muslims founded in Arabia in the 7th century and based on the teachings of Muhammad as laid down in the Koran; "Islam is a complete way of life, not a Sunday religion"; "the term Muhammadanism is offensive to Muslims who believe that Allah, not Muhammad, founded their religion" | | 2. |  devil - an evil supernatural beingincubus - a male demon believed to lie on sleeping persons and to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women succuba, succubus - a female demon believed to have sexual intercourse with sleeping men dibbuk, dybbuk - (Jewish folklore) a demon that enters the body of a living person and controls that body's behavior | | 3. | devil - a word used in exclamations of confusion; "what the devil"; "the deuce with it"; "the dickens you say"exclaiming, exclamation - an abrupt excited utterance; "she gave an exclamation of delight"; "there was much exclaiming over it" | | 4. | devil - a rowdy or mischievous person (usually a young man); "he chased the young hellions out of his yard" | | 5. |  devil - a cruel wicked and inhuman persondemoniac - someone who acts as if possessed by a demon | | Verb | 1. |  devil - cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations; "Mosquitoes buzzing in my ear really bothers me"; "It irritates me that she never closes the door after she leaves"annoy, gravel, irritate, nark, rile, vex, nettle, rag, bother, chafe, get at, get to eat into, rankle, grate, fret - gnaw into; make resentful or angry; "The injustice rankled her"; "his resentment festered" chafe - feel extreme irritation or anger; "He was chafing at her suggestion that he stay at home while she went on a vacation" peeve - cause to be annoyed, irritated, or resentful ruffle - trouble or vex; "ruffle somebody's composure" fret - cause annoyance in beset, chevvy, chevy, chivvy, chivy, harass, harry, hassle, molest, plague, provoke - annoy continually or chronically; "He is known to harry his staff when he is overworked"; "This man harasses his female co-workers" | | 2. | devil - coat or stuff with a spicy paste; "devilled eggs"cookery, cooking, preparation - the act of preparing something (as food) by the application of heat; "cooking can be a great art"; "people are needed who have experience in cookery"; "he left the preparation of meals to his wife" ready, prepare, cook, fix, make - prepare for eating by applying heat; "Cook me dinner, please"; "can you make me an omelette?"; "fix breakfast for the guests, please" |
devil 2. brute, monster, savage, beast, villain, rogue, barbarian, fiend, terror, swine, ogre noun 4. scamp, monkey ( informal) rogue, imp, rascal, tyke ( informal) scoundrel, scallywag ( informal) mischief-maker, whippersnapper, toerag ( slang) pickle Brit. ( informal) nointer Austral. ( slang) >> the Devil Satan, Lucifer, Prince of Darkness, Old One, Deuce, Old Gentleman ( informal) Lord of the Flies, Old Harry ( informal) Mephistopheles, Evil One, Beelzebub, Old Nick ( informal) Mephisto, Belial, Clootie Scot. deil Scot. Apollyon, Old Scratch ( informal) Foul Fiend, Wicked One, archfiend, Old Hornie ( informal) Abbadon  Translations
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