Devil — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

noun verb /ˈde-vᵊl/ dev·il

Meaning & Definition of Devil

Devil (noun)

  1. 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
  2. an evil spirit, demon
  3. an extremely wicked person, fiend

Devil (verb)

  1. to season highly
  2. tease, annoy

Devil (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. the supreme personification of evil often represented as the ruler of hell

    "the Devil is traditionally seen as a being who relentlessly tempts people to commit evil"

    similar: archfiend, Beelzebub, fiend, Lucifer, Old Nick, Satan, serpent
    related: deuce, dickens, Mephistopheles

  2. an evil spirit

    "acted as if possessed by some devil"

    similar: cacodemon, demon, fiend, ghost, ghoul, ghoulie, imp, shaitan
    related: hag (archaic), lamia, vampire, incubus, nightmare, succubus, afreet, genie, jinni, apparition, banshee, bogey, bugbear, familiar, familiar spirit, genius, phantasm, phantom, poltergeist, shade, shadow, specter, spirit, spook, vision, wraith, brownie, dwarf, elf, faerie, fairy, fay, gnome, goblin, gremlin, hobgoblin, kobold, leprechaun, pixie, puck, sprite, troll, monster, ogre
    near: angel

  3. a member of the human race

    "that poor devil never did achieve his dream"

    similar: baby, being, bird, bod (British), body, character, cookie, creature, customer, duck, egg, face, fish, guy, head, human, human being, individual, life, man, mortal, party, person, personage, scout, slob, sort, soul, specimen, stiff, thing, wight, son of man
    related: hominid, homo, humanoid, brother, fellow, fellowman, neighbor, celebrity, personality, self, somebody
    near: animal, beast, beastie, brute, critter

  4. an appealingly mischievous person

    "why, you little devil!"

    similar: hellion, imp, mischief, monkey, rapscallion, rascal, rogue, scamp, urchin
    related: cutup, larker, madcap, skylarker, ragamuffin, brat, disrupter, misbehaver, nuisance, juvenile delinquent, gamin, gamine
    near: beast, boor, cad, churl, clown, creep, cretin, cur, heel, joker, louse, lout, skunk, snake, stinkard, stinker, knave, miscreant, reprobate, scalawag, scapegrace, scoundrel, varlet, villain

  5. a mean, evil, or unprincipled person

    "he's a devil to everyone he does business with"

    similar: baddie, beast, brute, caitiff, evildoer, fiend, heavy, hound, knave, meanie, miscreant, monster, nazi, no-good, rapscallion, rascal, reprobate, rogue, savage, scalawag, scamp, scapegrace, scoundrel, varlet, villain, wretch
    related: villainess, blackguard, criminal, crook, culprit, felon, lawbreaker, malefactor, offender, perp, perpetrator, transgressor, sinner, trespasser, wrongdoer, cad, heel, serpent, snake, viper, bandit, bravo, desperado, outlaw, con, convict, jailbird, assassin, cutthroat, gangster, goon, gunman, hoodlum, hooligan, racketeer, ruffian, thug, rough, rowdy, tough, loser, lowlife, ne'er-do-well, stinker, trash
    near: angel, innocent, saint, hero

  6. a person who seeks out very dangerous or foolhardy adventures with no apparent fear

    "originally snowboarders were regarded as devils on the slopes and a menace to skiers"

    similar: daredevil, madcap, madman
    related: berserk, cowboy, hot dog, showboat

Devil (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. as in get, torment

    similar: aggravate, annoy, bedevil, chafe, dog, dun, exasperate, fret, gall, get, gnaw, grate, hassle, irk, irritate, nettle, peeve, persecute, pique, put out, rankle, rasp, rile, roil, torment, vex, worry, inconvenience, trouble, beleaguer, beset, besiege, bother, bug, chivy, disturb, intrude (upon), pester, distress, plague, afflict, harass, provoke, anger, antagonize, enrage, incense, inflame, infuriate, madden, outrage, agitate, perturb, butt in, cut in (on), obtrude, encroach, infringe, invade, trespass
    opposite: disregard, forget, ignore, leave, slight, appease, conciliate, disarm, mollify, oblige, placate, delight, gladden, gratify, please, satisfy, comfort, console, content

Related Entry: Devil-may-care (adjective)

Devil-may-care is a different word from Devil. The synonyms below are for devil-may-care, not for devil.

  1. having a relaxed, casual manner

    "a devil-may-care golfer who knows that it's only a game"

    similar: affable, breezy, easygoing, happy-go-lucky, laid-back, low-pressure, mellow
    related: carefree, casual, dégagé, lackadaisical, nonchalant, unaffected, unconcerned, unfussy, unperturbed, untroubled, unworried, familiar, homey, informal, flexible, lax, lenient, permissive, pliable, pliant, soft, accessible, approachable, imperturbable, nerveless, unflappable, unshakable, amicable, companionable, comradely, cordial, genial, hail-fellow-well-met, hearty, neighborly, warm, warmhearted
    opposite: high-strung, uptight
    near: ceremonious, decorous, formal, rigid, strict, anxious, bothered, distressed, worried, jittery, jumpy, nervous, skittish, tense

  2. having or showing a lack of concern for the consequences of one's actions

    "the devil-may-care speed with which he drives his sports car is going to cause a lot of grief someday"

    similar: daredevil, foolhardy, harum-scarum, hell-for-leather, irresponsible, kamikaze, reckless
    related: adventurous, audacious, bold, daring, venturesome, hasty, headlong, hotheaded, impetuous, precipitate, rash, wild, blithe, carefree, happy-go-lucky, madcap, slaphappy, nonchalant, unconcerned, unworried, careless, freewheeling, heedless, inattentive, incautious, mindless, regardless, unheeding, unmindful, feckless, inconsiderate, thoughtless, unthinking
    opposite: responsible
    near: careful, cautious, circumspect, heedful, overcareful, overcautious, timid

  3. having or showing freedom from worries or troubles

    "the devil-may-care attitude that some people have about needlessly contributing to global warming"

    similar: blithe, carefree, debonair, gay, happy-go-lucky, insouciant, lighthearted, lightsome, slaphappy, unconcerned
    related: blasé, breezy, cavalier, nonchalant, casual, easygoing, informal, laid-back, low-pressure, relaxed, unfussy
    opposite: careworn
    near: earnest, grave, serious, serious-minded, somber, careful, cautious, heedful, wary, anxious, concerned, upset, worried, long-suffering, overburdened, sorrowful

Related Entry: Sea devil (noun)

Sea devil is a different word from Devil. The synonyms below are for sea devil, not for devil.

  1. any of several extremely large rays

    "a sea devil glided along the ocean floor"

    similar: devilfish, manta, manta ray
    related: ray, skate

Related Entry: The devil (interjection)

The devil is a different word from Devil. The synonyms below are for the devil, not for devil.

  1. as in (the) deuce, the dickens

    similar: (the) deuce, egad, gad, gadzooks (archaic), the dickens, zounds, oops, ugh, there, fiddlesticks, phooey, pooh, gee, gee whiz, ha, hello, hey, lo, oh, ah, aha, come on, fie, indeed, my word, no, pshaw, well, what, why

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Devil

The most common words with a similar meaning to Devil:

British: bod
archfiend, Beelzebub, fiend, Lucifer, Old Nick, Satan, serpent, cacodemon, demon, ghost, ghoul, ghoulie, imp, shaitan, baby, being, bird, body, character, cookie, creature, customer, duck, egg, face, fish, guy, head, human, human being, individual, life, man, mortal, party, person, personage, scout, slob, sort

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Devil

Words with the opposite meaning of Devil:

disregard, forget, ignore, leave, slight, appease, conciliate, disarm, mollify, oblige, placate, delight, gladden, gratify, please, satisfy, comfort, console, content

Related Words for Devil

deuce, dickens, Mephistopheles, hag, lamia, vampire, incubus, nightmare, succubus, afreet, genie, jinni, apparition, banshee, bogey, bugbear, familiar, familiar spirit, genius, phantasm, phantom, poltergeist, shade, shadow, specter, spirit, spook, vision, wraith, brownie

Near Antonyms of Devil

angel, animal, beast, beastie, brute, critter, boor, cad, churl, clown, creep, cretin, cur, heel, joker, louse, lout, skunk, snake, stinkard, stinker, knave, miscreant, reprobate, scalawag, scapegrace, scoundrel, varlet, villain, innocent

Word Forms of Devil

Inflections: deviled, devilled, deviling, devilling

Origin & Etymology of Devil

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-

First known use: before 12th century

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Devil

Words & Phrases Containing Devil

devil-may-care, devil ray, devil's advocate, devil's claw, devil's club, devil's darning needle, devil's food cake, devil's ivy

Frequently Asked Questions about Devil

What does "Devil" mean?

"Devil" means 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. As an a noun and a verb, it is defined as: 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. It has 7 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Devil"?

Other words for "Devil" include archfiend, Beelzebub, fiend, Lucifer, Old Nick, Satan, serpent and cacodemon. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Devil" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Devil"?

There are 255 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Devil". Common alternatives include archfiend, Beelzebub, fiend, Lucifer, Old Nick, Satan, serpent, cacodemon, demon and ghost.

What is the opposite of "Devil"?

Antonyms of "Devil" include disregard, forget, ignore, leave, slight, appease, conciliate and disarm. Near antonyms include angel, animal, beast and beastie.

How do you use "Devil" in a sentence?

Examples of "Devil" in a sentence: "the Devil is traditionally seen as a being who relentlessly tempts people to commit evil"; "acted as if possessed by some devil"; "that poor devil never did achieve his dream".

Is "Devil" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Devil" can be used as a noun and a verb, depending on the context.

Is "Devil" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As a C1-level word, "Devil" is typical of Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE), IELTS band 7.0–8.0, TOEFL iBT 95–113, PTE Academic 76–84, TOEIC Listening & Reading 945+. Advanced words like this are also useful for the GRE, SAT, GMAT, and LSAT.

How do you pronounce "Devil"?

"Devil" is pronounced /ˈde-vᵊl/ and divided into syllables as dev·il.