devil

/ˈdɛvəl/

/ˈdɛvəl/

Other forms: devils; deviled; devilled; deviling; devilling

A devil is profoundly bad spirit, being, or monster. Your religious uncle might blame all bad behavior on the influence of the devil.

In Christianity, the devil (which is sometimes capitalized), is the essence of evil, also known as Satan. The word is also used to mean a very hateful or cruel human: "He must be a devil, to hurt a kitten like that," or sometimes a mischievous trickster: "What a little devil she is, always playing practical jokes." When you devil someone, you annoy or bother them: "We loved to devil the cranky old man next door."

Definitions of devil

1. noun

   an evil supernatural being
   synonyms: daemon, daimon, demon, fiend

   types:

   incubus

   a male demon believed to visit people while they sleep and to consort 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

   type of:

   evil spirit

   a spirit tending to cause harm
2. noun

   a cruel wicked and inhuman person
   synonyms: demon, fiend, monster, ogre

   types:

   demoniac

   someone who acts as if possessed by a demon

   type of:

   disagreeable person, unpleasant person

   a person who is not pleasant or agreeable
3. noun

   a rowdy or mischievous person (usually a young man)
   synonyms: heller, hellion

   type of:

   bad hat, mischief-maker, trouble maker, troublemaker, troubler

   someone who deliberately stirs up trouble
4. noun

   a word used in exclamations of confusion
   “what the devil”

   synonyms: deuce, dickens

   type of:

   exclaiming, exclamation

   an abrupt excited utterance
5. verb

   cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations
   synonyms: annoy, bother, chafe, get at, get to, gravel, irritate, nark, nettle, rag, rile, vex

   chafe

   feel extreme irritation or anger

   types:

   get, get under one's skin

   irritate

   eat into, fester, fret, gnaw, 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

   goad, needle

   goad or provoke, as by constant criticism

   bedevil, crucify, dun, frustrate, rag, torment

   treat cruelly

   haze

   harass by imposing humiliating or painful tasks, as in military institutions

   type of:

   displease

   give displeasure to
6. verb

   coat or stuff with a spicy paste
   “devilled eggs”

   type of:

   cook, fix, make, prepare, ready

   prepare for eating by applying heat