devil
Americannoun
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devils
plural
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Theology.
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(sometimes initial capital letter) the supreme spirit of evil; Satan.
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a subordinate evil spirit at enmity with God, and having power to afflict humans both with bodily disease and with spiritual corruption.
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an atrociously wicked, cruel, or ill-tempered person.
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a person who is very clever, energetic, reckless, or mischievous.
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a person, usually one in unfortunate or pitiable circumstances.
The poor devil kept losing jobs through no fault of his own.
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Also called printer's devil. Printing. a young worker below the level of apprentice in a printing office.
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any of various mechanical devices, as a machine for tearing rags, a machine for manufacturing wooden screws, etc.
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Nautical. (in deck or hull planking) any of various seams difficult to caulk because of form or position.
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any of various portable furnaces or braziers used in construction and foundry work.
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the devil, (used as an emphatic expletive or mild oath to express disgust, anger, astonishment, negation, etc.).
What the devil do you mean by that?
verb (used with object)
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devils,
present (3rd person singular)
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deviled,
past participle, past
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devilled,
past participle, past (especially British)
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deviling,
present participle
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devilling
present participle (especially British)
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to annoy; harass; pester.
to devil Mom and Dad for a new car.
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to tear (rags, cloth, etc.) with a devil.
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Cooking. to prepare (food, usually minced) with hot or savory seasoning.
to devil eggs.
idioms
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go to the devil,
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to fail completely; lose all hope or chance of succeeding.
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to become depraved.
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(an expletive expressing annoyance, disgust, impatience, etc.)
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raise the devil,
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to cause a commotion or disturbance.
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to celebrate wildly; revel.
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to make an emphatic protest or take drastic measures.
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devil of a, extremely difficult or annoying; hellish.
I had a devil of a time getting home through the snow.
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let the devil take the hindmost, to leave the least able or fortunate persons to suffer adverse consequences; leave behind or to one's fate.
They ran from the pursuing mob and let the devil take the hindmost.
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play the devil with, to ruin completely; spoil.
The financial crisis played the devil with our investment plans.
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give the devil his due, to give deserved credit even to a person one dislikes.
To give the devil his due, you must admit that she is an excellent psychologist.
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the devil to pay, trouble to be faced; mischief in the offing.
If conditions don't improve, there will be the devil to pay.
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between the devil and the deep (blue) sea, between two undesirable alternatives; in an unpleasant dilemma.
noun
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theol (often capital) the chief spirit of evil and enemy of God, often represented as the ruler of hell and often depicted as a human figure with horns, cloven hoofs, and tail
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theol one of the subordinate evil spirits of traditional Jewish and Christian belief
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a person or animal regarded as cruel, wicked, or ill-natured
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a person or animal regarded as unfortunate or wretched
that poor devil was ill for months
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a person or animal regarded as clever, daring, mischievous, or energetic
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informal something difficult or annoying
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Christian Science the opposite of truth; an error, lie, or false belief in sin, sickness, and death
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(in Malaysia) a ghost
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a portable furnace or brazier, esp one used in road-making or one used by plumbers Compare salamander
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any of various mechanical devices, usually with teeth, such as a machine for making wooden screws or a rag-tearing machine
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See printer's devil
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law (in England) a junior barrister who does work for another in order to gain experience, usually for a half fee
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meteorol a small whirlwind in arid areas that raises dust or sand in a column
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between equally undesirable alternatives
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informal (intensifier)
a devil of a fine horse
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to acknowledge the talent or the success of an opponent or unpleasant person
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to fail or become dissipated
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(interjection) used to express annoyance with the person causing it
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with great speed, determination, etc
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informal to make much worse; upset considerably
the damp plays the devil with my rheumatism
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to cause a commotion
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to make a great protest
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(interjection) used when an absent person who has been the subject of conversation appears
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(intensifier:)
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used in such phrases as what the devil, where the devil, etc
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an exclamation of anger, surprise, disgust, etc
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a very difficult or problematic (thing)
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look after oneself and leave others to their fate
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problems or trouble to be faced as a consequence of an action
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something very difficult or awkward
verb
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(tr) to prepare (esp meat, poultry, or fish) by coating with a highly flavoured spiced paste or mixture of condiments before cooking
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(tr) to tear (rags) with a devil
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(intr) to serve as a printer's devil
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(intr) to do hackwork, esp for a lawyer or author; perform arduous tasks, often without pay or recognition of one's services
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informal (tr) to harass, vex, torment, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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devilsimple
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devilssimple
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have deviledperfect
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have devilledperfect
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has deviledperfect
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has devilledperfect
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am devilingprogressive
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am devillingprogressive
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are devilingprogressive
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are devillingprogressive
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is devilingprogressive
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is devillingprogressive
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have been devilingperfect progressive
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have been devillingperfect progressive
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has been devilingperfect progressive
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has been devillingperfect progressive
Past
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deviledsimple
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devilledsimple
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had deviledperfect
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had devilledperfect
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was devilingprogressive
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was devillingprogressive
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were devilingprogressive
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were devillingprogressive
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had been devilingperfect progressive
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had been devillingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of devil
before 900; Middle English devel, Old English dēofol < Late Latin diabolus < Greek diábolos Satan (Septuagint, NT), literally, slanderer (noun), slanderous (adj.), verbid of diabállein to assault someone's character, literally, to throw across, equivalent to dia- dia- + bállein to throw
Explanation
A devil is profoundly bad spirit, being, or monster. Your religious uncle might blame all bad behavior on the influence of the devil. In Christianity, the devil (which is sometimes capitalized), is the essence of evil, also known as Satan. The word is also used to mean a very hateful or cruel human: "He must be a devil, to hurt a kitten like that," or sometimes a mischievous trickster: "What a little devil she is, always playing practical jokes." When you devil someone, you annoy or bother them: "We loved to devil the cranky old man next door."
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.
See Examples For:
Singer and songwriter Brandi Carlile called Parton “an angel on my shoulder and also the devil on my other shoulder.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
“We always had this idea of the angel and the devil influences on Tony and the two paths that were laid in front of him,” Howe says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
Six years ago, Match.com released an ad in which the devil met his true love: 2020.
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026
It could be "very meaningful", he said, but "as always, the devil is in the detail".
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
Never was there a clearer case of “stealing the livery of the court of heaven to serve the devil in.”
From "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" by Frederick Douglass
Although he produced little in 1936, Klee’s last three years were increasingly prolific, and his subjects—death, violence, devils and angels—grew otherworldly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
In Naiguata, a small coastal town famous for its traditional "dancing devils" festival, Cesar Rendon, 49, a former inmate who lived in the town's halfway house, confides that he "unburdened himself" with Apostol.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
Dust storms and spinning dust devils sweep across the surface, continually reshaping the landscape and driving processes that scientists are only beginning to fully understand.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 5, 2026
Like amateur detectives, we learn alongside them as they click around pages about Sumerian devils, Catholic saints and the origin of the nursery rhymes “London Bridge” and “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 11, 2026
It is the same feeling that flooded my system when I learned about the dust devils on Mars.
From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga
Come to the Witch’s Cottage in NoHo for the hidden wonders, but stay for dragon-themed deviled eggs and rum-heavy cocktails.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 4, 2026
Over deviled eggs and hash I finally felt comfortable in my own seat.
From Slate ● Feb. 22, 2026
Serve up on a toasted bagel for a classic preparation, top deviled eggs, or add to a seafood pasta.
From Salon ● Dec. 4, 2025
Naturally, it now promotes potatoes as a trick-or-treat option—or “trick-or-tater,” as the association puts it—and suggests any number of Halloween-themed potato recipes, such as one for Devilish Potatoes, a twist on deviled eggs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2025
When she was a child she had deviled for a while at the Maycomb Tribune office and had witnessed several altercations, including the last, between Mrs. E.C.B. and Mr. Underwood.
From "Go Set a Watchman: A Novel" by Harper Lee
They included flavors from an elaborately moulded and colored iced spinach à la crème, to little devilled ices in cups.
From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2023
At La Mercerie, in SoHo, the dish looks more like oeufs mimosa, or devilled eggs, with the cavity of each egg half filled with mayonnaise and sprinkled with grated yolk.
From The New Yorker ● Aug. 9, 2018
Not long ago, she won first prize in the annual church fair for her hot devilled crab cakes.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 19, 2015
Meanwhile, if The Neighbors, about a couple moving into a gated community populated by extraterrestrials, were a canapé, it would be a molecular-gastronomy mishap, and Malibu Country a slightly-off devilled egg.
From Slate ● May 16, 2012
Tender freshwater shrimp garnished with cream and rose leaves, devilled barley pearls in acorn purée, apple and carrot chews, marinated cabbage stalks steeped in creamed white turnip with nutmeg.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
After first appearing on the West Coast, shortages have cropped up throughout the Midwest and are now be deviling construction in the East, partly because West Coast builders have been snapping up supplies.
From Time Magazine Archive
While his Scots friends are deviling the English on the border, Pierre lands in Cornwall and tries to dethrone Tudor King Henry VII.
From Time Magazine Archive
But he got his biggest cheers when he returned to deviling his absent rivals.
From Time Magazine Archive
The trucks barreled down the long, winding road, their passengers silenced by the dust deviling up and by the heat.
From "The Devil's Arithmetic" by Jane Yolen
I had just finished deviling eggs in the upstairs kitchen.
From Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles
The department and the Pinkertons have been devilling the life out of me about it for nine months.
From The Lost Road by Richard Harding Davis
He had, during the last four years, done a good deal of "devilling"; he had attended at the Old Bailey watching for "soups" with untiring patience.
From Mike Fletcher A Novel by George (George Augustus) Moore
In English legal phraseology "devil" and "devilling" are used of barristers who act as substitutes for others.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 3 "Destructors" to "Diameter" by Various
Well, I shall win because I want nothing but my fare to London to start there to-morrow earning my own living by devilling for Honoria.
From Mrs. Warren's Profession by Bernard Shaw
They would be better employed taking a walk, devilling for some investigator, browsing in museums or libraries, or even arguing with each other.
From Cambridge Essays on Education by Various
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.
