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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
Travis Bean, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
The result is a hollow movie—but its very hollowness gives rise to a diabolical twist that’s more than merely clever.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2025
At that time, two nuclear superpowers held each other in check while a few other nations kept small arsenals for deterrence and almost all other countries abided by the Non-Proliferation Treaty, meant to limit the spread of these diabolical weapons.
—Andreas Kluth, Twin Cities, 17 Aug. 2025
There was Big's death by Peloton in the very first episode, the diabolical caricature of a non-binary person that was podcaster/comedian Che Diaz, and a slew of both plot continuity errors and tonal inconsistencies.
—Megan McCluskey, Time, 15 Aug. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Diabolical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diabolical. Accessed 29 Aug. 2025.
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diabolical
adjective
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