bedevil

[ bih-dev-uhl ]

/ bɪˈdɛv əl /

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See synonyms for: bedevil / bedeviled / bedevilment on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), be·dev·iled, be·dev·il·ing or (especially British) be·dev·illed, be·dev·il·ling.

to torment or harass maliciously or diabolically, as with doubts, distractions, or worries.

to possess, as with a devil; bewitch.

to cause confusion or doubt in; muddle; confound: an issue bedeviled by prejudices.

to beset or hamper continuously: a new building bedeviled by elevator failures.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of bedevil

First recorded in 1760–70; be- + devil

OTHER WORDS FROM bedevil

be·dev·il·ment, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use bedevil in a sentence

QAnon has featured prominently in real-world violence, including through its devotees’ participation in the Capitol siege, and it has bedeviled tech companies who have scrambled to remove known purveyors of violent threats and conspiratorial lies.
QAnon believers seek to adapt their extremist ideology for a new era: ‘Things have just started’|Drew Harwell|January 21, 2021|Washington Post
Delivering vaccines to millions of people in mere months was destined to hit roadblocks, and even nations with vaunted pandemic responses, such as Germany, have been bedeviled by the complexity of that effort.
Vaccines were a chance to redeem failures in the U.S. coronavirus response. What went wrong?|Lena H. Sun, Isaac Stanley-Becker, Frances Stead Sellers, Laurie McGinley, Amy Goldstein, Christopher Rowland, Carolyn Y. Johnson|January 11, 2021|Washington Post
That would make for two issues that have long bedeviled the city, which are both especially resonant in her coastal district.
Politics Report: Winners and Losers Special Edition|Scott Lewis and Andrew Keatts|November 7, 2020|Voice of San Diego
While a 51-vote Senate would have a better shot at solving the problems that bedevil the country, it will not solve them all, and it may make some worse.
The definitive case for ending the filibuster|Ezra Klein|October 1, 2020|Vox

My case, which is spelled out in detail here, looks back at what bedeviled Presidents as the glow of their return to office faded.
How Iraq Became Obama’s War|Jeff Greenfield|July 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The teams arrived on Dec. 13 at the South Pole after a difficult trip bedeviled by atrocious conditions.
Check Out Prince Harry's MASSIVE New Polar Beard!|Tom Sykes|December 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST
So the Democratic gathering is the second convention to be bedeviled by bad weather.
Convention Speech Moved Inside: Rain Foils Obama's Plans|Howard Kurtz|September 5, 2012|DAILY BEAST
But things have not turned out that way, like so much else in this bedeviled relationship.
NATO Summit’s Big Loser: Behind Obama’s Snub of Pakistan|Bruce Riedel|May 22, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The issue of human-rights abuses has always bedeviled Beijing.
China Sided With Russia on Syria out of Defensiveness, Not Strength|Melinda Liu|February 8, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Barometers way down, compass is bedeviled, seams opening fore and aft.
Cursed|George Allan England
On summer mornings he saw himself as a knight of virtue advancing clear-eyed upon a bedeviled world.
Erik Dorn|Ben Hecht
The old cocks save their powder,—that is unless they get bedeviled with a panic.
Miss Ravenel's conversion from secession to loyalty|J. W. de Forest
He was perfect in his line, though sadly at a disadvantage; ravished from his forest-world, and bedeviled with alien civilization.
Continental Monthly, Vol. I, No. V, May, 1862|Various
The squire was sure that "bedeviled tigress would never die in bed."
Sharing Her Crime|May Agnes Fleming

British Dictionary definitions for bedevil

bedevil

/ (bɪˈdɛvəl) /

verb -ils, -illing or -illed or US -ils, -iling or -iled (tr)

to harass or torment

to throw into confusion

to possess, as with a devil

Derived forms of bedevil

bedevilment, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

bedevil

Origin of bedevil

OTHER WORDS FROM bedevil

Words related to bedevil

How to use bedevil in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for bedevil

Derived forms of bedevil