adjective
-
excruciatingly bad; outrageous
-
(intensifier)
a diabolical liberty
Other Word Forms
- diabolically adverb
- diabolicalness noun
- hyperdiabolical adjective
- hyperdiabolically adverb
- hyperdiabolicalness noun
- nondiabolical adjective
- nondiabolically adverb
- nondiabolicalness noun
- superdiabolical adjective
- superdiabolically adverb
- superdiabolicalness noun
Etymology
Origin of diabolical
First recorded in 1500–10; from Late Latin diabolicus ( diabolic ( def. ) ) + -al 1 ( def. )
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.
"It's a diabolical situation that consumers find themselves in and especially at a really important time of year for families and for businesses," Mr Walker said.
From BBC
The diabolical move from Riley would pay off.
From Los Angeles Times
The promise remains dazzling and deliciously diabolical enough for adherents to forget that deals with the devil always come with a hidden, inescapable price tag.
From Salon
But the sinister thing about Obamacare is, and the way the architects did this, it was diabolical.
After that fall, each bout of sickness or medical procedure causes a cruel chain reaction, like a diabolical Rube Goldberg machine.
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.
