bedevil
[bih-dev-uh l]
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.
Origin of bedevil
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Related Words for bedevilment
persecution, provocation, molestation, annoyance, disturbance, bother, exasperation, aggravation, perturbation, torment, irritation, hassle, trouble, vexation, nuisance, provoking, bothering, pestering, vexingExamples from the Web for bedevilment
Historical Examples of bedevilment
He felt as in some hideous dream—long-involved—a maze of delusion and bedevilment, from which there was no escape.
Mount Royal, Volume 3 of 3Mary Elizabeth Braddon
But having entered, the confusion and bedevilment was ten times worse than even in the churchyard itself.
Scotland is the home of weird, uncanny creatures, who take lovely shapes for the bedevilment of poor weak souls.
Behind A Mask, Or A Woman's PowerA. M. Barnard
Isabelle did not formulate any plan of bedevilment for the Captain, but she watched for opportunities with lynx-eyed attention.
The CricketMarjorie Cooke
She had helped him—I had his own word for it that at Clockborough her bedevilment of the voters had really put him in.
The Coxon FundHenry James
bedevil
verb -ils, -illing or -illed or US -ils, -iling or -iled (tr)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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bedevil
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper