devilish
You can describe someone as devilish if they're nasty and cruel, although this adjective is also used for rascally or naughty people, like the devilish kids you babysit.
A devilish punishment is cruel, but a devilish preschooler simply misbehaves in a playful way. Since about 1600, the word devil has been used to mean not just an "evil, diabolical spirit," but also a "clever rogue." The adjective has followed suit, so you might describe a terrifying movie monster as a devilish creature, while also calling your favorite rascal a devilish creature.
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showing the cunning or ingenuity or wickedness typical of a devil“devilish schemes”synonyms: diabolic, diabolical, mephistophelean, mephistophelianevilmorally bad or wrong
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playful in an appealingly bold way
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in a playfully devilish mannersynonyms: devilishly
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Vocabulary lists containing devilish
Langston Hughes' short story "Thank You, M'am" explores how compassion can lead to change. Here are all the word lists to support the reading of Grade 6 Unit 1's texts from SpringBoard's Common Core ELA series: Imperfect Me, My Superpowers, Flipped, The Jacket, Kira-Kira, Thank You, M'am, Pandora and the Whispering Box, Eleven, The Treasure of Lemon Brown, The Fun They Had
Edge: Level B, Volume 1, Unit 1, Cluster 2. Here are links to the other clusters within Unit 1: "The Experiment" and "The World Is in Their Hands", "Thank You, M'am" and "Juvenile Justice", "The Necklace" and "The Fashion Show"
In his debut novel, award-winning writer Jason Reynolds tells the story of Ali, a teenager who tries to stay out of trouble in his gritty Brooklyn neighborhood. But when one of his friends is attacked, Ali is drawn into a real fight — with real consequences.