demonology

American  

[dee-muh-nol-uh-jee] / ˌdi məˈnɒl ə dʒi /

Or daemonology

noun

1. the study of demons or of beliefs about demons.

2. belief in demons.

3. a group of persons or things regarded as evil or pernicious.

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demonology British  

/ ˌdiːmənəˈlɒdʒɪkəl, ˌdiːməˈnɒlədʒɪ /

noun

1. Also called: demonism.  the study of demons or demonic beliefs

2. a set of people or things that are disliked or held in low esteem

   the place occupied by Hitler in contemporary demonology

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Other Word Forms

• demonologic adjective
• demonological adjective
• demonologically adverb
• demonologist noun

Etymology

Origin of demonology

First recorded in 1590–1600; demono- + -logy

Example Sentences

“I am a newbie to demonology, but there is clearly something dangerous at work here,” Shanahan said.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 2, 2025

“I guess I just always thought a church was a church. The world of demonology was something that I had never had any exposure to.”

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 4, 2023

If we’re going to have a witch-hunt, let’s at least bone up on our demonology.

From The Guardian • Oct. 8, 2014

Attempts at institutionalizing medical education were largely unsuccessful, and most practitioners drew at will on a mixture of demonology, astrology, yin-yang five phases theory, classic texts, folk wisdom, and personal experience.

From Slate • Oct. 23, 2013

We still think of human disease as the work of an organized, modernized kind of demonology, in which the bacteria are the most visible and centrally placed of our adversaries.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas