English Dictionary

DEVIL (devilled, devilling)

Pronunciation (US): Play  (GB): Play

IPA (US): 

Irregular inflected forms: devilled  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation, devilling  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation

 Dictionary entry overview: What does Devil mean? 

DEVIL (noun)
  The noun DEVIL has 5 senses:

1. (Judeo-Christian and Islamic religions) chief spirit of evil and adversary of God; tempter of mankind; master of Hellplay

2. an evil supernatural beingplay

3. a word used in exclamations of confusionplay

4. a rowdy or mischievous person (usually a young man)play

5. a cruel wicked and inhuman personplay

  Familiarity information: DEVIL used as a noun is common.


DEVIL (verb)
  The verb DEVIL has 2 senses:

1. cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritationsplay

2. coat or stuff with a spicy pasteplay

  Familiarity information: DEVIL used as a verb is rare.


 Dictionary entry details 


DEVIL (noun)


Sense 1

Meaning:

(Judeo-Christian and Islamic religions) chief spirit of evil and adversary of God; tempter of mankind; master of Hell

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

Beelzebub; Devil; Lucifer; Old Nick; Prince of Darkness; Satan; the Tempter

Instance hypernyms:

spiritual being; supernatural being (an incorporeal being believed to have powers to affect the course of human events)

Domain category:

faith; religion; religious belief (a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny)

Islam; Islamism; Mohammedanism; Muhammadanism; Muslimism (the monotheistic religious system of Muslims founded in Arabia in the 7th century and based on the teachings of Muhammad as laid down in the Koran)

Derivation:

devilize (turn into a devil or make devilish)


Sense 2

Meaning:

An evil supernatural being

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

daemon; daimon; demon; devil; fiend

Hypernyms ("devil" is a kind of...):

evil spirit (a spirit tending to cause harm)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "devil"):

incubus (a male demon believed to lie on sleeping persons and to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women)

succuba; succubus (a female demon believed to have sexual intercourse with sleeping men)

dibbuk; dybbuk ((Jewish folklore) a demon that enters the body of a living person and controls that body's behavior)

Derivation:

devilize (turn into a devil or make devilish)


Sense 3

Meaning:

A word used in exclamations of confusion

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

deuce; devil; dickens

Context example:

the dickens you say

Hypernyms ("devil" is a kind of...):

exclaiming; exclamation (an abrupt excited utterance)


Sense 4

Meaning:

A rowdy or mischievous person (usually a young man)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

devil; heller; hellion

Context example:

he chased the young hellions out of his yard

Hypernyms ("devil" is a kind of...):

bad hat; mischief-maker; trouble maker; troublemaker; troubler (someone who deliberately stirs up trouble)

Derivation:

diabolic (showing the cunning or ingenuity or wickedness typical of a devil)


Sense 5

Meaning:

A cruel wicked and inhuman person

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

demon; devil; fiend; monster; ogre

Hypernyms ("devil" is a kind of...):

disagreeable person; unpleasant person (a person who is not pleasant or agreeable)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "devil"):

demoniac (someone who acts as if possessed by a demon)

Derivation:

devilize (turn into a devil or make devilish)

diabolic (extremely evil or cruel; expressive of cruelty or befitting hell)

diabolic (showing the cunning or ingenuity or wickedness typical of a devil)


DEVIL (verb)

 Conjugation: 
Present simple: I / you / we / they devil  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation ... he / she / it devils  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation
Past simple: deviled  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation / devilled  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation
Past participle: deviled  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation / devilled  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation
-ing form: deviling  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation / devilling  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation


Sense 1

Meaning:

Cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

annoy; bother; chafe; devil; get at; get to; gravel; irritate; nark; nettle; rag; rile; vex

Context example:

It irritates me that she never closes the door after she leaves

Hypernyms (to "devil" is one way to...):

displease (give displeasure to)

Verb group:

chafe (feel extreme irritation or anger)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "devil"):

get; get under one's skin (irritate)

eat into; fret; grate; rankle (gnaw into; make resentful or angry)

peeve (cause to be annoyed, irritated, or resentful)

ruffle (trouble or vex)

fret (cause annoyance in)

beset; chevvy; chevy; chivvy; chivy; harass; harry; hassle; molest; plague; provoke (annoy continually or chronically)

antagonise; antagonize (provoke the hostility of)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sentence example:

The performance is likely to devil Sue

Derivation:

devilment; devilry; deviltry (reckless or malicious behavior that causes discomfort or annoyance in others)


Sense 2

Meaning:

Coat or stuff with a spicy paste

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Context example:

devilled eggs

Hypernyms (to "devil" is one way to...):

cook; fix; make; prepare; ready (prepare for eating by applying heat)

Domain category:

cookery; cooking; preparation (the act of preparing something (as food) by the application of heat)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

The chefs devil the vegetables


 Context examples 


The species is considered endangered due to devil facial tumour 1 (DFT1), a cancer that is passed between animals through the transfer of living cancer cells when the animals bite each other.

(Human anti-cancer drugs could help treat transmissible cancers in Tasmanian devils, University of Cambridge)

But Martin, looking into his eyes, saw no fear there,—naught but a curious and mocking devil.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

The peasant replied: “He says that the Devil is hiding outside there in the closet on the porch.”

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

Wretched devil! You reproach me with your creation, come on, then, that I may extinguish the spark which I so negligently bestowed.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

An herbal combination of two plants, devil's claw (Harpagophytum procumbens) and jambul (Eugenia jambolana) that may be administered both orally and topically in various formulations.

(Devil's Foot/Jambul, NCI Thesaurus)

I did me duty to the devil, an' now, God willin', I'll do me duty to God.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

You didn’t know this dead man, McCarthy. He was a devil incarnate. I tell you that.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

His hand went out to mine, and as I shook it heartily I could have sworn I saw the mocking devil shine up for a moment in his eyes.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Mary saw the devil’s light in my eyes, and she ran forward with her hands on my sleeve.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The sly devil—God forgive me that I should speak of him so, now that he is dead!

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)



 Learn English with... Proverbs 
"It's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all." (English proverb)

"Mind the goats so that you will drink their milk." (Albanian proverb)

"The ass went seeking for horns and lost his ears." (Arabic proverb)

"May problems with neighbors last only as long as snow in March." (Corsican proverb)



ALSO IN ENGLISH DICTIONARY:


© 2000-2023 AudioEnglish.org | AudioEnglish® is a Registered Trademark | Terms of use and privacy policy
Contact