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devil
[ dev-uhl ]
noun
- Theology.
- (sometimes initial capital letter) the supreme spirit of evil; Satan.
- a subordinate evil spirit at enmity with God, and having power to afflict humans both with bodily disease and with spiritual corruption.
- an atrociously wicked, cruel, or ill-tempered person.
- a person who is very clever, energetic, reckless, or mischievous.
- a person, usually one in unfortunate or pitiable circumstances:
The poor devil kept losing jobs through no fault of his own.
- Also called printer's devil. Printing. a young worker below the level of apprentice in a printing office.
- any of various mechanical devices, as a machine for tearing rags, a machine for manufacturing wooden screws, etc.
- Nautical. (in deck or hull planking) any of various seams difficult to caulk because of form or position.
- any of various portable furnaces or braziers used in construction and foundry work.
- the devil, (used as an emphatic expletive or mild oath to express disgust, anger, astonishment, negation, etc.):
What the devil do you mean by that?
verb (used with object)
- to annoy; harass; pester:
to devil Mom and Dad for a new car.
- to tear (rags, cloth, etc.) with a devil.
- Cooking. to prepare (food, usually minced) with hot or savory seasoning:
to devil eggs.
devil
/ ˈɛə /
noun
- theol often capital the chief spirit of evil and enemy of God, often represented as the ruler of hell and often depicted as a human figure with horns, cloven hoofs, and tail
- theol one of the subordinate evil spirits of traditional Jewish and Christian belief
- a person or animal regarded as cruel, wicked, or ill-natured
- a person or animal regarded as unfortunate or wretched
that poor devil was ill for months
- a person or animal regarded as clever, daring, mischievous, or energetic
- informal.something difficult or annoying
- Christian Science the opposite of truth; an error, lie, or false belief in sin, sickness, and death
- (in Malaysia) a ghost
- a portable furnace or brazier, esp one used in road-making or one used by plumbers Compare salamander
- any of various mechanical devices, usually with teeth, such as a machine for making wooden screws or a rag-tearing machine
- See printer's devil
- law (in England) a junior barrister who does work for another in order to gain experience, usually for a half fee
- meteorol a small whirlwind in arid areas that raises dust or sand in a column
- between the devil and the deep blue seabetween equally undesirable alternatives
- devil of informal.(intensifier)
a devil of a fine horse
- give the devil his dueto acknowledge the talent or the success of an opponent or unpleasant person
- go to the devil
- to fail or become dissipated
- interjection used to express annoyance with the person causing it
- like the devilwith great speed, determination, etc
- play the devil with informal.to make much worse; upset considerably
the damp plays the devil with my rheumatism
- raise the devil
- to cause a commotion
- to make a great protest
- talk of the devil! or speak of the devil!interjection used when an absent person who has been the subject of conversation appears
- the devil!intensifier:
- used in such phrases as what the devil, where the devil, etc
- an exclamation of anger, surprise, disgust, etc
- the devil's owna very difficult or problematic (thing)
- the devil take the hindmost or let the devil take the hindmostlook after oneself and leave others to their fate
- the devil to payproblems or trouble to be faced as a consequence of an action
- the very devilsomething very difficult or awkward
verb
- tr to prepare (esp meat, poultry, or fish) by coating with a highly flavoured spiced paste or mixture of condiments before cooking
- tr to tear (rags) with a devil
- intr to serve as a printer's devil
- intr to do hackwork, esp for a lawyer or author; perform arduous tasks, often without pay or recognition of one's services
- informal.tr to harass, vex, torment, etc
Other 51Թs From
- dzܳdi verb (used with object) outdeviled outdeviling or (especially British) outdevilled outdevilling
- ܲ·i noun
- ܲd·i noun
51Թ History and Origins
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of devil1
Idioms and Phrases
- between the devil and the deep (blue) sea, between two undesirable alternatives; in an unpleasant dilemma.
- devil of a, extremely difficult or annoying; hellish:
I had a devil of a time getting home through the snow.
- give the devil his due, to give deserved credit even to a person one dislikes:
To give the devil his due, you must admit that she is an excellent psychologist.
- go to the devil,
- to fail completely; lose all hope or chance of succeeding.
- to become depraved.
- (an expletive expressing annoyance, disgust, impatience, etc.)
- let the devil take the hindmost, to leave the least able or fortunate persons to suffer adverse consequences; leave behind or to one's fate:
They ran from the pursuing mob and let the devil take the hindmost.
- play the devil with, to ruin completely; spoil:
The financial crisis played the devil with our investment plans.
- raise the devil,
- to cause a commotion or disturbance.
- to celebrate wildly; revel.
- to make an emphatic protest or take drastic measures.
- the devil to pay, trouble to be faced; mischief in the offing:
If conditions don't improve, there will be the devil to pay.
More idioms and phrases containing devil
- between a rock and a hard place (devil and deep blue sea)
- full of it (the devil)
- give someone hell (the devil)
- give the devil his due
- go to hell (the devil)
- luck of the devil
- play the devil with
- raise Cain (the devil)
- speak of the devil
Example Sentences
As John Maynard Keynes said of the challenges of overpopulation, the “chaining up of the one devil may, if we are careless, only serve to lose another still fiercer and more intractable.”
What is clear is that, for legislation tying benefits to service-related health conditions, the devil is in the details.
He had recently revealed he was questioning his gender, and says the leaders of the camp told him this was "satanic" and that he was a "reincarnation of the devil."
In this chat, it took the devil on Trump's shoulder to make sense of it for the group.
"It's been a devil of a job," he claims, "to get people in the trust to simply read the report, even the summary."
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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