Mephistopheles

[ mef-uh-stof-uh-leez ]

/ ˌmɛf əˈstɒf əˌliz /

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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…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

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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

m.e.p., M.E.P.A., mepacrine, meperidine, Mephibosheth, Mephistopheles, mephitic, mephitis, meprobamate, mEq, Mequon

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

How to use Mephistopheles in a sentence

But these kids make for wan enemies, after the Mephistopheles Berezovsky almost too small to pick on.
Putin Needs an Enemy After Berezovsky’s Death|Peter Pomerantsev|March 25, 2013|DAILY BEAST
N is for Ben Nelson, who, but for the grace of Lieberman, would have been Mephistopheles-in-chief.
Health Care: A Critic's Index|Tunku Varadarajan|December 25, 2009|DAILY BEAST
He stood with one arm akimbo, the other resting on the table, and grinned like a vulgar Mephistopheles.
A Butterfly on the Wheel|Cyril Arthur Edward Ranger Gull
"Let me be your banker, dear Miss Warrender," whispered the aged Mephistopheles who stood behind her chair.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume III (of 3)|Charles James Wills

In short, in less than half an hour he returned with our old acquaintances, brutus and mephistopheles.
It Is Never Too Late to Mend|Charles Reade
To work this scheme mephistopheles required a beautiful large new tent; the serpentine man bought it.
It Is Never Too Late to Mend|Charles Reade
He could see nothing at that distance but the dark body of mephistopheles passing at intervals between him and the white tent.
It Is Never Too Late to Mend|Charles Reade

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.