Dictionary.com

Mephistopheles

[ mef-uh-stof-uh-leez ]
/ ˌmɛf əˈstɒf əˌliz /
Save This Word!

noun
Medieval Demonology. one of the seven chief devils and the tempter of Faust.
QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…
Also Me·phis·to [muh-fis-toh]. /məˈfɪs toʊ/.

OTHER WORDS FROM Mephistopheles

Meph·is·to·phe·li·an, Meph·is·to·phe·le·an [‐stuh-fee-lee-uhn], /‐stəˈfi li ən/, adjective

Words nearby Mephistopheles

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Mephistopheles in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for Mephistopheles

Mephistopheles

Mephisto (məˈfɪstəʊ)

/ (ˌmɛfɪˈstɒfɪˌliːz) /

noun
a devil in medieval mythology and the one to whom Faust sold his soul in the Faust legend

Derived forms of Mephistopheles

Mephistophelean or Mephistophelian (ˌmɛfɪstəˈfiːlɪən), adjective
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

Cultural definitions for Mephistopheles

Mephistopheles
[ (mef-i-stof-uh-leez) ]

In the drama Faust by Goethe, a devil who tempts Faust into selling his soul to the powers of darkness. Mephistopheles also appears, with his name spelled Mephistophilis, in the sixteenth-century English play Doctor Faustus, by Christopher Marlowe.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
FEEDBACK