devil

1 of 2

noun

dev·​il ˈde-vᵊl How to pronounce devil (audio)
 dialectal  ˈdi-
1
often capitalized : the personal supreme spirit of evil often represented in Christian belief as the tempter of humankind, the leader of all apostate angels, and the ruler of hell
usually used with the
often used as an interjection, an intensive, or a generalized term of abuse
what the devil is this?
the devil you say!
2
: an evil spirit : demon
3
a
: an extremely wicked person : fiend
b
archaic : a great evil
4
: a person of notable energy, recklessness, and dashing spirit
also : one who is mischievous
those kids are little devils today
5
: fellow
usually used in the phrases poor devil, lucky devil
6
a
: something very trying or provoking
having a devil of a time with this problem
b
: severe criticism or rebuke : hell
used with the
I'll probably catch the devil for this
c
: the difficult, deceptive, or problematic part of something
the devil is in the details
7
8
Christian Science : the opposite of Truth : a belief in sin, sickness, and death : evil, error

devil

2 of 2

verb

deviled or devilled; deviling or devilling ˈde-və-liŋ How to pronounce devil (audio)
ˈdev-liŋ

transitive verb

1
: to season highly
deviled eggs
2
Phrases
between the devil and the deep blue sea
: faced with two equally objectionable alternatives
devil to pay
: severe consequences
used with the
there'll be the devil to pay if we're late

Examples of devil in a Sentence

Noun She is a tricky devil, so be careful. Those kids can be little devils sometimes. He's such a lucky devil that he'll probably win the lottery someday.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Its depictions of dancing devils and witches’ sabbaths are supposed to scare viewers straight, but writer-director Benjamin Christensen is also sympathetic towards the plight of medieval women persecuted for witchcraft. Katie Rife, EW.com, 12 Mar. 2024 But open doors and lower walls can create space for devils to stroll in unimpeded, and Shanley suggests how abusers might twist the logic of Vatican II to their own nefarious ends. Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024 Men dress as devils and pose for photos, a clown walks around shouting jokes, a man enters the ring on his motorbike, which has a set of horns at the front, and drives through the crowd. Toby Muse, Rolling Stone, 3 Mar. 2024 On Sunday, that Tasmanian devil is probably going to Super Bowl LVIII. Angela Watercutter, WIRED, 9 Feb. 2024 Its sinister, woodsy atmospherics, where wet leaves mingle with mud and fishscales and menstrual blood, may suggest witchcraft or devil worship. Jessica Kiang, Variety, 20 Feb. 2024 Much remains unresolved in the death of 34-year-old Pittsburg resident Rafael Lopez: The identity of the second gunman, and just how the perpetrators got the idea to arm themselves, don devil masks, and head off to a home on Havenwood Circle during the early morning of Dec. 14, 2019. Nate Gartrell, The Mercury News, 19 Feb. 2024 Drawer upon drawer reveals antique pens, watches, clocks, cuff links, medals, lighters, more hood ornaments including a bulldog and assorted devils, a complete set of maps for the early British motorist, and a full dining set in a hamper. Paul Croughton, Robb Report, 17 Feb. 2024 My newspaper career began at age 16 as a printer’s devil — cleaning presses, melting Linotype lead — for the weekly Ojai Valley News. George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 15 Jan. 2024
Verb
Asking god to heal his body and mind… devil you a lie. Tommy McArdle, Peoplemag, 5 Oct. 2023 Thus, dinner at Speak is a mix of their fancy-food greatest hits, like bone marrow bruschetta ($18), lobster deviled eggs ($18), and a Caesar or wedge salad ($12 or $14). Sarah Blaskovich, Dallas News, 23 June 2023 Devil facial tumor disease is passed from devil to devil through physical contact. Katie Jewett, Discover Magazine, 16 Aug. 2018 Starters: baby iceberg wedge lettuce; burrata cheese with prosciutto ham, balsamic reduction and micro basil; pimento cheese deviled eggs with Kentucky chow-chow and mixed greens; baked crab cake served over bib lettuce with Julienne apples and smoky garlic aioli; soup de jour. The Courier-Journal, 5 Apr. 2023 It’s also designed to better accommodate female astronauts, a problem that has deviled the space agency in the past. Tim Fernholz, Quartz, 16 Mar. 2023 So understanding the strange tricks that devil facial tumor disease, or DFTD, has evolved to ensure its survival should shed new light on cancer writ large. Julie Rehmeyer, Discover Magazine, 31 Mar. 2014 Highlights include a variety of cheese, smoked salmon, prosciutto, deviled egg salad, biscuits, bagels and baguettes and cinnamon rolls. Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2020 For $60, the family-sized meal includes a savory galette, homemade brioche with plum jam and French butter, Bayonne ham and pickles, miso deviled eggs, fresh fruit and a spring salad with wine and Bloody Mary or mimosa kits available for extra. Michael Russell, oregonlive, 6 May 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'devil.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English devel, del, dule, going back to Old English dēofol, dīoful, going back to West Germanic *diuvul- (whence also Old Frisian diūvel, diōvel, Old Saxon diuƀal, Middle Dutch duvel, Old High German tiuval, tiufal), probably borrowed from an early Romance outcome of Late Latin diabolus "the Devil," borrowed from Greek diábolos (New Testament, Septuagint, as a rendering of Hebrew śāṭān satan), earlier, "accuser, backbiter, slanderer," agentive derivative of diabállein "to take across, put through, set at variance, attack (a person's character), accuse, slander," from dia- dia- + bállō, bállein "to reach by throwing, let fly, strike, put, place," going back to earlier *gwəl-n-ō or *gwəl-i̯-ō, perhaps going back to an Indo-European base *gwelh1-

Note: The standard English pronunciation of devil with the outcome of a short vowel presumably reflects shortening of the Old English dipththong -ēo-/-īo- in syncopated forms, as the nominative plural dēoflas. The early Modern English form divel (as in Shakespeare), preserved in regional and dialectal speech in both Britain and the U.S., shows Middle English shortening of original ẹ̄ to i. Forms such as Middle English dele and early Scots dele show loss of v before a syllable ending in a liquid. — Greek bállein and its many prefixed forms are rich in nominal derivatives, usually with o-grade (as in diábolos, perhaps secondarily agentive, after the adjective diábolos "slanderous, backbiting") or with zero grade blē- (going back to *gwl̥h1-C-). That the original consonant was a labiovelar is assured by the Arcadian form esdellō, with e-grade, corresponding to Greek ekballō "expel, let fall." Despite its thoroughly Indo-European formal properties, bállein has no certain cognates outside Greek.

Verb

derivative of devil entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1787, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of devil was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near devil

Cite this Entry

“Devil.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/devil. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

devil

1 of 2 noun
dev·​il ˈdev-əl How to pronounce devil (audio)
1
often capitalized : the personal supreme spirit of evil often represented as the ruler of hell
often used with the as a mild oath or expression of surprise, irritation, or emphasis
2
3
a
: a person who is wicked, mischievous, reckless, or lively
b
: person sense 1
usually used in the phrases poor devil and lucky devil

devil

2 of 2 verb
deviled or devilled; deviling or devilling ˈdev-(ə-)liŋ How to pronounce devil (audio)
1
: to season highly
deviled eggs
2

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