1
often capitalized
: 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
what the devil is this?
the devil you say!
2
: an evil spirit : demon
3
a
: an extremely wicked person : fiend
b
archaic
: a great evil
4
: a person of notable energy, recklessness, and dashing spirit
also
: one who is mischievous
those kids are little devils today
5
: fellow
—usually used in the phrases poor devil, lucky devil
6
a
: something very trying or provoking
having a devil of a time with this problem
b
: severe criticism or rebuke : hell
—used with the
I'll probably catch the devil for this
c
: the difficult, deceptive, or problematic part of something
the devil is in the details
7
deviled or devilled; deviling or devilling
ˈde-və-liŋ
ˈdev-liŋ
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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