fiend

fiend

noun \ˈfēnd\

Definition of FIEND

1

a : devil 1

b : demon

c : a person of great wickedness or maliciousness

2

: a person extremely devoted to a pursuit or study : fanatic <a golf fiend>

3

: addict 1 <a dope fiend>

4

: wizard 3 <a fiend at mathematics>

Examples of FIEND

1. a fiend in human form
2. He's a real golf fiend.
3. His hands were trembling, actually trembling, as if he were some sort of coffee fiend or something. —T. Coraghessan Boyle, The Road to Wellville, 1993
4. Wodehouse may not have liked Dickens, but he certainly read him. He read like a fiend. —Christopher Hitchens, Times Literary Supplement, 7-13 Sept. 1990
5. The shameless effrontery of the fiend, at the café, pretending to forget all he had done to her, begging to take up with her again, as if nothing had happened between them a dozen years ago. —Irving Wallace, The Plot, 1967

Origin of FIEND

Middle English, from Old English fīend; akin to Old High German fīant enemy, Sanskrit pīyati he reviles, blames

First Known Use: before 12th century

Related to FIEND

Synonyms

baddie (or baddy), beast, brute, caitiff, devil, evildoer, villain, heavy, hound, knave, meanie (also meany), miscreant, monster, nazi, no-good, rapscallion, rascal, reprobate, rogue, savage, scalawag (or scallywag), scamp, scapegrace, scoundrel, varlet, wretch

Antonyms

nonaddict, nonuser

Related Words

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 Antonyms

angel, innocent, saint; hero