devil
noun · verb
Simple meaning
An evil creature, the objectification of a hostile and destructive force.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
dehvuhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈdɛvəl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
theology
An evil creature, the objectification of a hostile and destructive force.
theologyJudeo-Christian and Islamic religions
Chief spirit of evil and adversary of God; tempter of mankind; master of Hell
A rowdy or mischievous person (usually a young man)
A cruel wicked and inhuman person
A person, especially a man; used to express a particular opinion of him, usually in the phrases poor devil and lucky devil.
folklore
A fictional image of a man, usually red or orange in skin color; with a set of horns on his head, a pointed goatee and a long tail and carrying a pitchfork; that represents evil and portrayed to children in an effort to discourage bad behavior.
verb
To grill with cayenne pepper; to season highly in cooking, as with pepper.
To prepare (food) with spices, making it spicy
To finely grind cooked ham or other meat with spices and condiments.
intransitive
To work as a 'devil'; to work for a lawyer or writer without fee or recognition.
To prepare a sidedish of shelled halved boiled eggs to whose extracted yolks are added condiments and spices, which mixture then is placed into the halved whites to be served.
To shred fabric into its fibres for recycling, as in the production of mungo or shoddy.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: An evil creature, the objectification of a hostile and destructive force.
Used this way, devil is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly unfavourable pull. This is a religious use: it carries the weight of tradition and ceremony.
- Emotional tone
- Negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Serious and weighty
- Usage feel
- Blunt and forceful
Where it naturally appears
- Religion/spirituality
- Historical writing
Nearby words
- old nick , rarer, so it draws attention
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use devil
- “The artist painted a frightening devil figure in the classic masterpiece.”
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
In a playfully devilish manner.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A stinging herb of tropical America.
Small manta (to 4 feet) that travels in schools.
Evergreen tree of eastern Asia and Philippines having large leathery leaves and small green-white flowers in compact cymes.
The acts or rites of worshiping devils.
Someone who worships devils.
Halved hard-cooked egg with the yolk mashed with mayonnaise and seasonings and returned to the white.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.