Did you know?
Like the word devil, "diabolical" traces back to Latin diabolus, which itself descends from Greek diabolos, a word that literally means "slanderer." In English, "diabolical" has many nuances of meaning. It can describe the devil himself (as in "my diabolical visitor") or anything related to or characteristic of him in appearance, behavior, or thought; examples include "diabolical lore," "a diabolical grin," and "a diabolical plot." In British slang, "diabolical" can also mean "disgraceful" or "bad," as in "the food was diabolical."
Examples of diabolical in a Sentence
Glenn Garner, Deadline, 11 June 2025
Adapting Ed McBain’s detective novel King’s Ransom, Kurosawa moves effortlessly from compelling race-against-time thriller to exacting social commentary, creating a diabolical treatise on contemporary Japanese society.
—Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 9 June 2025
Even people who have never seen the picture may know about its opening sequence, in which Drew Barrymore answers a phone call from a horror movie-loving stranger, which leads into the story's first diabolical kill.
—Jordan Hoffman, EW.com, 6 June 2025
Removing him could theoretically make room for the film to build out Jumba’s diabolical intentions, but the movie seems to have no clue what to do with him, either.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 23 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for diabolical
Cite this Entry
“Diabolical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diabolical. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
diabolical
adjective
Share