devil

1 of 2

noun

dev·​il ˈde-vᵊl How to pronounce devil (audio)
 dialectal  ˈdi-
Synonyms of devilnext
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
: dust devil
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
: tease, annoy
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

Synonyms

Noun

See all Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus 

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
The current top predator in Tasmania, the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii), is already facing severe population declines due to disease. —Scott Travers, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024 The devil facial tumor disease (DFTD) has been eating away at the population of Tasmanian devils and re-introducing the thylacine might not do the devil any favors. —Scott Travers, Forbes, 31 Oct. 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 See all Example Sentences for devil 

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

Phrases Containing devil

Dictionary Entries Near devil

deviceful

devil

devil's advocate

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Devil.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/devil. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

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
: demon sense 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
: tease entry 1 sense 2a, annoy

More from Merriam-Webster on devil

Nglish: Translation of devil for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of devil for Arabic Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about devil

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

9 Superb Owl Words

15 Words That Used to Mean Something Different
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
sweet smart pug puppy dog sitting in front of blackboard with chalk question marks
Commonly Confused Words Quiz Vol. 3 Do you have a (flare/flair) for choosing the righ...