fiend

[ feend ]
See synonyms for fiend on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. Satan; the devil.

  2. any evil spirit; demon.

  1. a diabolically cruel or wicked person.

  2. a person or thing that causes mischief or annoyance: Those children are little fiends.

  3. Informal. a person who is extremely addicted to some pernicious habit: an opium fiend.

  4. Informal. a person who is excessively interested in some game, sport, etc.; fan; buff: a bridge fiend.

  5. a person who is highly skilled or gifted in something: a fiend at languages.

verb (used without object)
  1. Also feen [feen] /fin/ .Slang. to desire greatly: just another junkie fiending after his next hit;As soon as I finish a cigarette I'm fiending to light another.

Origin of fiend

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English feend, Old English fēond; cognate with German Feind, Old Norse fjandr, Gothic fijands “foe,” originally present participle of fijan “to hate”

Other words for fiend

Other words from fiend

  • fiendlike, adjective
  • un·der·fiend, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use fiend in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for fiend (1 of 2)

fiend

/ (fiːnd) /


noun
  1. an evil spirit; demon; devil

  2. a person who is extremely wicked, esp in being very cruel or brutal

  1. informal

    • a person who is intensely interested in or fond of something: a fresh-air fiend; he is a fiend for cards

    • an addict: a drug fiend

  2. (informal) a mischievous or spiteful person, esp a child

Origin of fiend

1
Old English fēond; related to Old Norse fjāndi enemy, Gothic fijands, Old High German fīant

Derived forms of fiend

  • fiendlike, adjective

British Dictionary definitions for Fiend (2 of 2)

Fiend

/ (fiːnd) /


noun
  1. the Fiend the devil; Satan

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012