Mephistopheles

noun

Meph·​is·​toph·​e·​les ˌme-fə-ˈstä-fə-ˌlēz How to pronounce Mephistopheles (audio)
: a chief devil in the Faust legend

Examples of Mephistopheles in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Inspired by the demon Mephistopheles, Mephisto lords over a dimension in the underworld and is determined to acquire as many souls of the living as possible. Nick Romano, EW.com, 26 Sep. 2024 Adrian started out as a theology student, but the stakes of Mann’s novel are not, at heart, theological—Adrian has a maddening case of syphilis, and that is the secular portal through which Mephistopheles makes his entry. James Wood, The New Yorker, 5 Aug. 2024 The Kit Kat Club’s master of ceremonies is a kind of Mephistopheles, and also—if an actor really nails it—a sinister mirage of ambiguity. Sara Holdren, Vulture, 21 Apr. 2024 In the Mephistopheles movement, Bernstein augments the infernal atmosphere by having the strings play sul ponticello—a ghastly slithering of the bow near the bridge. Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'Mephistopheles.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

German

First Known Use

circa 1590, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of Mephistopheles was circa 1590

Dictionary Entries Near Mephistopheles

Cite this Entry

“Mephistopheles.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Mephistopheles. Accessed 13 Oct. 2024.

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