| English Dictionary |
DEVIL (devilled, devilling)
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| IPA (US): |  |
, devilling 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 Hell
2. an evil supernatural being
3. a word used in exclamations of confusion
4. a rowdy or mischievous person (usually a young man)
5. a cruel wicked and inhuman person
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 irritations
2. coat or stuff with a spicy paste
Familiarity information: DEVIL used as a verb is rare.
Dictionary entry details
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:
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:
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)
| Conjugation: |
... he / she / it devils Past simple: deviled
/ devilled Past participle: deviled
/ devilled -ing form: deviling
/ devilling 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)
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"Mind the goats so that you will drink their milk." (Albanian proverb)
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