devil
(Judeo-Christian and Islamic religions) chief spirit of evil and adversary of God; tempter of mankind; master of Hell
How often you will meet it
Rank 1,165 of 71,295 words measured. It occurs 15,806 times across 139,755 chapters — 0.008% of every word in the library.
What it means
noun
- (Judeo-Christian and Islamic religions) chief spirit of evil and adversary of God; tempter of mankind; master of Hell also: Satan, Old Nick, Lucifer, Beelzebub, the Tempter, Prince of Darkness
- an evil supernatural being also: fiend, demon, daemon, daimon
- a word used in exclamations of confusion also: deuce, dickens what the devilthe deuce with it
- a rowdy or mischievous person (usually a young man) also: hellion, heller he chased the young hellions out of his yard
- a cruel wicked and inhuman person also: monster, fiend, demon, ogre
verb
- cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations also: annoy, rag, get to, bother, get at, irritate Mosquitoes buzzing in my ear really bothers meIt irritates me that she never closes the door after she leaves
- coat or stuff with a spicy paste devilled eggs
devil in real books
Each sentence below was written by a published author and is taken from a different book in our library. Open one to read the passage it came from, with narration.
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No; the devil was in your dream.
The White Devil · John Webster · Chapter 1
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You're no good At bowling that has real "devil" in it.
Punch — Volume 99, August 16, 1890 · Various · Chapter 1
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And when his servants, who were waiting, saw him in such a state, they thought he was the Devil.
The Dream · Émile Zola · Chapter 1
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For a minute Teddy glared like a devil in the moonlight, and an awful evil expression fairly flooded his face.
The Torch and Other Tales · Eden Phillpotts · Chapter 1
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I believe him to have been a demon incarnated by the power of the Devil, whose intent was to frustrate God's plans.
The Mark of the Beast · Sydney Watson · Chapter 1