diabolism

American  

[dahy-ab-uh-liz-uhm] / daɪˈæb əˌlɪz əm /

noun

1. Theology.

   1. action aided or caused by the devil; sorcery; witchcraft.

   2. the character or condition of a devil.

   3. a doctrine concerning devils.

   4. a belief in or worship of devils.

2. action befitting the devil; deviltry.

---

diabolism British  

/ daɪˈæbəˌlɪzəm /

noun

1. 1. activities designed to enlist the aid of devils, esp in witchcraft or sorcery

   2. worship of devils or beliefs and teachings concerning them

   3. the nature of devils

2. character or conduct that is devilish or fiendish; devilry

---

Other Word Forms

• diabolist noun

Etymology

Origin of diabolism

1600–10; < Greek diábol ( os ) devil + -ism

Example Sentences

In addition to lending primacy to the Hanlons’ perspectives, “Welcome to Derry” also takes viewers inside the Indigenous community pushed to the town’s outskirts to explore their relationship to the diabolism known as It.

From Salon • Oct. 26, 2025

Whatever their theme — spectral invasion, diabolism, shape-changing — Blackwood expertly builds up an atmosphere of the otherworldly coupled with the spiritually threatening.

From Washington Post • Dec. 8, 2020

Photograph: David Levenson/Getty Images Pendle: a place synonymous with witches and Britain's most notorious diabolism trials.

From The Guardian • Aug. 16, 2012

Still, be warned: “The Sorcery Club” may seem an example of dated turn-of-the-century diabolism, but I wouldn’t try any of its weird invocations at home.

From Washington Post

It is merely the diabolism of instinct that prompts the young to believe that the race is all.

From Ancestors A Novel by Atherton, Gertrude Franklin Horn

Related Words

• calamity
• catastrophe
• corruption
• crime
• harm
• hatred
• ill
• misery
• pain
• sin
• suffering
• wrong