fiend

noun \ ˈfēnd \

|Updated on: 10 Jun 2018

Examples: fiend in a Sentence

Definition of fiend

1 a : devil 1

b : demon

c : a person of great wickedness or maliciousness

2 : a person extremely devoted to a pursuit or study : fanatic

a golf fiend

3 : addict 1

a dope fiend

4 : wizard 3

a fiend at mathematics

See fiend defined for English-language learners

See fiend defined for kids

Examples of fiend in a Sentence

His hands were trembling, actually trembling, as if he were some sort of coffee fiend or something. —T. Coraghessan Boyle, The Road to Wellville, 1993
Wodehouse may not have liked Dickens, but he certainly read him. He read like a fiend. —Christopher Hitchens, Times Literary Supplement, 7-13 Sept. 1990
The shameless effrontery of the fiend, at the café, pretending to forget all he had done to her, begging to take up with her again, as if nothing had happened between them a dozen years ago. —Irving Wallace, The Plot, 1967
a fiend in human form
He's a real golf fiend.

Recent Examples of fiend from the Web

Vampire Uprising is well worth a bite: The creature-feature crew will discover that recognizable tropes can feel fresh, and readers who aren’t horror fiends will find a beguiling entry into the thoughts of Dracula and his ilk living among us.

— brian truitt, USA TODAY, "Clever 'Vampire Uprising': These blood-suckers are demanding their civil rights!," 5 June 2018
Dante’s ‘Inferno’ reserves hell’s lowest circle for traitors, placing Judas Iscariot and other such fiends in a frozen lake.

— william anthony hay, WSJ, "‘The Tragedy of Benedict Arnold’ and ‘Turncoat’ Review: His Own Worst Enemy," 24 May 2018
Patrick is probably one of the fittest drivers in motor sports, a CrossFit fiend with her own workout and wellness book.

— jim ayello, Indianapolis Star, "Where IndyCar drivers go to prepare their minds, bodies for rigors of Indy 500," 16 May 2018
Basketballs:My children are fiends for them outside, so my brilliant idea was to take mashed sweet potato and roll it into little veggie basketballs.

— Redbook, "6 Ways to Trick Your Picky Eater into Trying New Foods," 28 June 2011
But this Friday he will be joined by tokers, potheads and dope fiends across the nation (especially folks in Denver) celebrating another 4/20 — the pot holiday with hazy origins that seems to get more popular every year.

— editors, USA TODAY, "Barbara Bush viewing, gun violence protests and 4/20: 5 things to know Friday," 20 Apr. 2018
With locations all over the country, little Lego fiends will build away, nary a dodgeball or game of capture the flag in sight.

— emily matchar, Smithsonian, "Ten Summer Camps For Little Innovators," 4 Apr. 2018
Bonus time: Jones is a sneaker fiend as has a collection of more than 40 pairs of shoes.

— danielle lerner, The Courier-Journal, "You better know these names. Meet Louisville basketball's starting five for the Final Four," 27 Mar. 2018
In his international play, Saric was a dancing, fist pumping, roof raising fiend, but has been mostly subdued in his celebratory moments with the Sixers.

— sarah todd, Philly.com, "Sixers 123, Nuggets 104: Dario Saric makes his mark, and Markelle Fultz returns as Sixers extend win streak," 26 Mar. 2018

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