Satan

American  

[seyt-n] / ˈseɪt n /

noun

1. the chief evil spirit; the great adversary of humanity; the devil.

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Satan British  

/ ˈseɪtən /

noun

1. the devil, adversary of God, and tempter of mankind: sometimes identified with Lucifer (Luke 4:5–8)

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Satan Cultural  

1. The devil. In the Bible (see also Bible), Satan is identified with the tempter who encourages the fall of Adam and Eve; he is the accuser who torments Job in the hope that he will curse God; the one who offers Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if Jesus will worship him (see Get thee behind me, Satan); and the evil one who puts betrayal in the heart of Judas. Satan will one day be confined in hell, but until then he is free to roam the Earth.

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Satan has been depicted in many ways: as a man with horns, goat hooves, a pointed tail, a pointed beard, and a pitchfork; as a dragon; and sometimes as an angel with large batlike wings.

Satan is the power of darkness opposed to the light of Christ; he is thus sometimes referred to as the Prince of Darkness.

Etymology

Origin of Satan

before 900; Middle English, Old English < Late Latin < Greek Satân, Satán < Hebrew śātān adversary

Compare meaning

How does satan compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• Lucifer vs. Satan

Example Sentences

It reenacts the Prophet Abraham's stoning of the devil at three places where Satan is said to have tried to dissuade him from obeying God's command to sacrifice his son Ishmael.

From Barron's • May 27, 2026

Using concepts from modern meteoritics, Burbery suggests that Dante portrayed Satan as a massive high-speed impactor striking the Southern Hemisphere and driving straight toward Earth's core.

From Science Daily • May 11, 2026

Given how much attention the very creative “Glitterball” devotes to the social and architectural character of Old Louisville, the subtext seems to be that Satan will always find a way, regardless of property values.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 17, 2026

Satan is also perturbed that some rando on Insta keeps commenting about sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein’s client list.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 24, 2025

Mrs. Morales was not sure if the miracle would be of God or Satan, but she held her tongue while Mr. Rodriguez thought about it.

From "145th Street: Short Stories" by Walter Dean Myers