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• dickens
  dickens

  noun

  Usually the dickens devil; deuce (often used in exclamations and as a mild oath).
• Dickens
  Dickens

  noun

  Charles John Huffam, Boz, 1812–70, English novelist.

dickens

¹ American  

[dik-inz] / ˈdɪk ɪnz /

noun

1. Usually the dickens devil; deuce (often used in exclamations and as a mild oath).

   The dickens you say! What the dickens does he want?

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Dickens ² American  

[dik-inz] / ˈdɪk ɪnz /

noun

1. Charles John Huffam, Boz, 1812–70, English novelist.

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Dickens ¹ British  

/ ˈdɪkɪnz /

noun

1. Charles ( John Huffam ), pen name Boz. 1812–70, English novelist, famous for the humour and sympathy of his characterization and his criticism of social injustice. His major works include The Pickwick Papers (1837), Oliver Twist (1839), Nicholas Nickleby (1839), Old Curiosity Shop (1840–41), Martin Chuzzlewit (1844), David Copperfield (1850), Bleak House (1853), Little Dorrit (1857), and Great Expectations (1861)

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dickens ² British  

/ ˈdɪkɪnz /

noun

1. informal a euphemistic word for devil

   what the dickens?

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Other Word Forms

• Dickensian
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of dickens

First recorded in 1590–1600; apparently a fanciful use of Dicken, form of Dick, a proper name

Explanation

Use the noun dickens for emphasis, or to express surprise — for example, you might ask, "What the dickens is this goat doing in the kitchen?" The old-fashioned dickens is a gentle and inoffensive replacement for a profanity. Instead of shocking your grandmother by cursing, you can instead say, "After shoveling all that snow, my back hurts like the dickens." This exclamation has been around since the late 1500s, when it became a substitute for devil, but no one's sure exactly why dickens was used. It may be from the last name Dickens, though it definitely pre-dates the writer Charles Dickens.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dickens Dickens

There now are about a dozen post offices, he said, and it feels like “they’re trying like the dickens to shut those down.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2020

“We fought like the dickens over a lot of issues,” he said, recalling “heated arguments.”

From Washington Post ● Sep. 19, 2019

He knows that “An Inconvenient Truth” scared the dickens out of some people.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 4, 2017

“He’s a human being. Little mistakes are made, different words are used – and everybody does it. As far as I can see, he’s trying the dickens to do a good job.”

From The Guardian ● May 19, 2017

After all the bragging I had done about what a good monkey catcher I was, I hated like the dickens to go and face him, but I couldn’t just run away.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

His wannabe Robocops launch indiscriminate raids, operate detention facilities under conditions out of a Dickens novel and regularly don face masks to hide their identities.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

It’s a tale as old as Dickens: No one likes a Scrooge.

From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2026

Dickens is open about her role as a caregiver in part as a way to decrease the stigma around bringing that part of a person’s life to work, she said.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026

Critics say the new reading requirements, which include Dickens and Shakespeare, infringe on religious freedoms and lack diversity.

From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026

He knew she read incessantly—Shakespeare, Henry James, Dickens, Thomas Hardy—but he did not think this could fill her days.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson