bedeviled 1 of 2

Definition of bedevilednext

bedeviled

2 of 2

verb

past tense of bedevil

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bedeviled
Verb
Mattison was excited about the possibility of helping the Dolphins solve their short-yardage shortcomings, a problem that had bedeviled them the previous two seasons. Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 3 Feb. 2026 Libya’s central bank is suing Zimbabwe’s finance minister and national oil company for more than $100 million, the latest development in a spiraling debt crisis that’s bedeviled the southern African nation for a quarter of a century. William Clowes, Bloomberg, 28 Jan. 2026 The acrimony that bedeviled so many bands that NOFX avoided for 40 years had finally caught up with them. Jim Ruland, Los Angeles Times, 20 Jan. 2026 Perhaps in Iran, which has been engulfed by mass protests, leading the president to threaten action against an oppressive regime that has bedeviled the United States for nearly half a century. Jonathan Lemire, The Atlantic, 13 Jan. 2026 These questions will be tough, likely impossible, to answer to everyone's satisfaction — and several have bedeviled lawmakers, and Iowans, before. Rachel E. Stassen-Berger, Des Moines Register, 8 Jan. 2026 Daniel Cole/Reuters Hiring slowed in November, resuming sluggish performance that has bedeviled the labor market for much of this year and elicited a series of interest rate cuts, a fresh jobs report on Tuesday showed. Max Zahn, ABC News, 16 Dec. 2025 The resulting statement included commitments by both sides to respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as to renounce the use of force to acquire land, something that had bedeviled their relations for decades. Ilan Berman, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Nov. 2025 Fraser was bedeviled by Elizabeth Hurley’s Beelzebub in Bedazzled (2000), earned career-best reviews for the Vietnam drama The Quiet American (2002), and landed a role in the Best Picture-winning Crash (2004). Andrew Walsh, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bedeviled
Adjective
  • Olivier tried successfully to get the reader to understand how a gentle, pacific young man could come to kill more than a thousand people, and so capturing the tone and empathetic portrayal not only of Simo Häyhä and his colleagues but also of the often-bewildered Russian soldiers was essential.
    Erik Pedersen, Oc Register, 30 Jan. 2026
  • The usually positive Gauff went negative, lacked energy and seemed bewildered and overwhelmed.
    Merlisa Lawrence Corbett, Forbes.com, 27 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • The violence captured on cellphone videos and shared around the globe – buses burning, gas stations attacked, military helicopters flying overhead – wasn’t just happening in remote rural towns long plagued by drug violence.
    Mary Beth Sheridan, CNN Money, 24 Feb. 2026
  • But controversial government efforts to redress inequalities have been plagued by corruption and cronyism.
    Michael H Gavshon, CBS News, 23 Feb. 2026
Adjective
  • Still, some songs can disrupt our dazed habit of barely listening and give us something to participate in.
    Mitch Therieau, New Yorker, 7 Feb. 2026
  • But plenty of people tell of being left dazed and destabilized by ayahuasca ceremonies and struggling to return to their previous lives; some make sudden life changes that only bring distress and further trauma.
    Mattha Busby, Rolling Stone, 16 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • Last year the Make-A-Wish Foundation flew Luke, who was afflicted with a rare life-threatening blood disorder in high school, to Denver to meet his hero.
    Taylor Antrim, Vogue, 8 Feb. 2026
  • Embarrassment could have been a factor in the rash decision, but Trump is not a man who appears to be afflicted by that particular emotion, which takes its cue from a certain amount of self-awareness and humility.
    Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2026
Adjective
  • Shoppers were confused and frustrated after finding out the shopping center was closed on a normally busy Friday.
    CBS News, CBS News, 21 Feb. 2026
  • Would fans be confused if the persistent graphic displayed a call different than the one offered in real time by the still-very-much-there ump?
    Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 21 Feb. 2026
Verb
  • The result is that, despite existing household pains owing to more expensive fuel, a resurgent kidnapping crisis that exposes deep security vulnerabilities, and external pressure from a US government that claims Christians are persecuted in Nigeria, Tinubu has expanded his base and looks strong.
    Alexander Onukwue, semafor.com, 16 Feb. 2026
  • Branding peaceful protesters as ‘terrorists,’ and Christians that are persecuted every year as ‘Zionist mercenaries,’ is nothing but scapegoating.
    Benjamin Weinthal, FOXNews.com, 13 Feb. 2026
Adjective
  • Marylanders would be wise to consider whether the state can endure another four years of a distracted governor.
    Torrey Snow, Baltimore Sun, 18 Feb. 2026
  • Raymond is the logical second in command and the one who gets frustrated when Godwin becomes more and more distracted.
    Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 16 Feb. 2026
Verb
  • Villagrán conducted research on Chilean Air Force officers and non-commissioned officers who were tortured by their own comrades for refusing to participate in the coup.
    Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 18 Feb. 2026
  • Her husband says she has been tortured after her arrest.
    Somayeh Malekian, ABC News, 10 Feb. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Bedeviled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bedeviled. Accessed 24 Feb. 2026.

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