demon

play

noun de·mon \ˈdē-mən\

variants: or

daemon

Definition of demon

1a : an evil spirit angels and demonsb : a source or agent of evil, harm, distress, or ruin the demons of drug and alcohol addiction confronting the demons of his childhood
2 usually daemon : an attendant (see ²attendant 1) power or spirit : genius
3 usually daemon mythology : a supernatural being intermediate between gods and men
4 : one that has exceptional enthusiasm, drive, or effectiveness a demon for work Doug, putting like a demon, had birdies on the third and sixth … — Fred Tupper

demonian

play \di-ˈmō-nē-ən\ adjective

demonization

play \ˌdē-mə-nə-ˈzā-shən\ noun

demonize

play \ˈdē-mə-ˌnīz\ transitive verb

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Examples of demon in a Sentence

only in rare cases is the ancient rite of exorcism performed to cast out a troublesome demon
a man who was finally able to conquer his demons and kick his drug habit

Recent Examples of demon from the Web

The latter is headed by always-shirtless conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, whose far-right fans believe Sandy Hook was a hoax and that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are literal demons.

— ethan sapienza, The Cut, "Goop and Infowars Have Way More in Common Than You Thought", 30 June 2017
As my colleague Eric Levitz pointed out, the attack ads against Ossoff associated him with demon-figures a lot more potent and remote than Pelosi.

— ed kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "It’s Time for Term Limits for Congressional Party Leaders — Including Nancy Pelosi", 28 June 2017
This time, Sato has become an expert in burying past demons.

— jim ayello, USA TODAY Sports, "Insider: More redemption ahead for Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato?", 24 June 2017
This time, Sato has become an expert in burying past demons.

— jim ayello, Indianapolis Star, "Insider: More redemption ahead for Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato?", 23 June 2017
Teddy says Gerry is possessed by a demon — an outlandish claim that seems more and more reasonable as the play progresses.

— dusty somers, The Seattle Times, "Review: Strong cast lifts the family pathos in ‘Downstairs’ at ACT", 22 June 2017
The Carolinas have Demons, Sharks and even Devildogs for high school mascots, but one district just outside Charlotte has drawn the line at being the first in South Carolina to go with rattlesnakes.

— mark price, charlotteobserver, "A rattlesnake as school mascot? Community near Charlotte hisses at the plan", 10 June 2017
But that means little to Golden State's players, who with a win in Game 4 on Friday night can exorcise those haunting demons from last June when the Warriors blew a 3-1 lead in the Finals to the Cavaliers.

— tom withers, chicagotribune.com, "Warriors one game from NBA title, playoff sweep after stunning Cavs 118-113", 8 June 2017
The goal of the metal concert is maybe two-fold: First, to rile the freaky demons and hell fire in your songs to life; and second, make your instruments wreak as much havoc on a crowd as possible without actually tossing them into the circle pit.

— dylan owens, The Know, "Review and photos: Through an epic storm, Metallica tries to “Ride the Lightning”", 8 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'demon'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of demon

Middle English demon, from Late Latin & Latin; Late Latin daemon evil spirit, from Latin, divinity, spirit, from Greek daimōn, probably from daiesthai to distribute — more at ¹tide

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First Known Use: 13th century

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