satanic
Americanadjective
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of or relating to Satan
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supremely evil or wicked; diabolic
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of satanic
First recorded in 1540–50; Satan + -ic ( def. )
Explanation
Satanic things are very bad or evil. You might describe your math teacher's pop quizzes as satanic, but that would be a bit of an exaggeration. The very first recorded use of the adjective satanic was in John Milton's 1667 epic poem "Paradise Lost," where it literally described things having to do with Satan, or the devil. Some people continue to use satanic to describe things they associate with hell or the devil, while many others use it as a synonym for "cruel" or "evil." The Hebrew root, satan, means "to oppose or plot against."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It also mixes in archival news reports and interviews with Rushdie detailing the furor in the Islamic world that greeted the publication of his 1988 novel "The Satanic Verses."
From Barron's • Jan. 26, 2026
A naive and wealthy man named Simon Aron falls under the spell of Mocata, the leader of a Satanic society active in London and southern England.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 7, 2025
For many years, Mr Rushdie had been the target of threats to his life after he published his novel The Satanic Verses in 1988.
From BBC • Feb. 10, 2025
“Founded in 1999 on the heels of the Satanic ‘panic’ and growing steadily ever since, Infowars has distinguished itself as an invaluable tool for brainwashing and controlling the masses,” he wrote.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 16, 2024
This was the same year in which William Blake evoked England’s 'dark, Satanic mills* in his poem ‘Jerusalem’, but Beethoven's easy-listening Pastoral is not about the industrial rape of the countryside.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
