Azazel

American  

[uh-zey-zuhl, az-uh-zel] / əˈzeɪ zəl, ˈæz əˌzɛl /

noun

Bible.

1. the demon or place in the wilderness to which a sacrificial goat is released in an atonement ritual.

2. scapegoat.

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Azazel British  

/ əˈzeɪzəl, ˈæzəˌzɛl /

noun

1. Old Testament a desert demon to whom the scapegoat bearing the sins of Israel was sent out once a year on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:1–28)

2. (in later Jewish and Gnostic writings and in Muslim tradition) a prince of demons

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Etymology

Origin of Azazel

From the Hebrew word ʿăzāzēl

Example Sentences

The jury for the U.S. dramatic competition was made up of filmmakers Janicza Bravo, Nisha Ganatra and Azazel Jacobs.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 30, 2026

Pfeiffer delivers a sly, elegant performance as Frances, which provides the chief pleasure of Azazel Jacobs' film, a melancholy farce adapted by Patrick DeWitt from his novel of the same name.

From Salon • Oct. 11, 2020

Azazel Jacobs’ The Lovers, which opens in the US today, follows in this noble, thorny tradition.

From The Guardian • May 5, 2017

The writer-director Azazel Jacobs is excellent at filming sidelong to his subject and only medium good at filming his actual subject.

From The New Yorker • May 3, 2017

It is said, in the Book of Enoch, that two hundred angels led by Azazel, the keeper of God’s throne, came to Earth after falling in love with the human women they had watched.

From "Where Things Come Back" by John Corey Whaley