variants
or devilling
as in tormenting
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deviling
Verb
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The self-torturing helices of thought twisting inside the young minds on the courts are no less fraught than the recursive neuroses tormenting the addicts down the hill.—
Hermione Hoby,
New Yorker,
26 Jan. 2026 -
The Chargers largely shut them down on offense, but New England was able to cobble together three field goals and a touchdown by tight end Hunter Henry, who, in a tormenting twist, began his career with the Chargers.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Trump has repeatedly alleged that the South African government is actively persecuting white citizens, particularly farmers.—
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Nov. 2025
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The former human-rights lawyer entered on a tourist visa and filed for political asylum in October of that year, claiming the governments that succeeded Correa were persecuting him.—
Syra Ortiz Blanes,
Miami Herald,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Picking up a drumstick and gnawing it clean, past the cartilage and down to the bone, was accepted without a second look.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 Jan. 2026
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But on Monday, there was only that pit-of-your-stomach gnawing concoction of disappointment, frustration and emptiness that foments when a chance for history is squandered.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
20 Jan. 2026
Verb
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This is just the latest in a string of shellfish heists bedeviling the Northeast where lobster, crabs, and oysters have gone missing in recent weeks.—
Jeremy Repanich,
Robb Report,
31 Dec. 2025
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There is a gaping hole in weather balloon coverage in western Alaska — a critical shortage bedeviling US forecasts and the National Weather Service since layoffs hit the agency as part of the Department of Government Efficiency’s push to shrink the federal government back in February.—
Andrew Freedman,
CNN Money,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Despite losing to Georgia in the conference championship game, DeBoer's Crimson Tide earned one of this year's 12 CFP spots, potentially riling up coaches and fans from other programs who felt their teams got snubbed.—
Matthew Couden,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Dec. 2025
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Jaxson de Ville is riling up supporters via pub crawl.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
19 Oct. 2025
Verb
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That’s the question dogging Mozilla’s new chief executive, Anthony Enzor-DeMeo, whose appointment was announced Tuesday.—
Andrew Nusca,
Fortune,
17 Dec. 2025
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The assessment landed on top of several unrelated controversies already dogging Patel, including scrutiny about his use of government aircraft for personal travel and, separately, his decision to assign an FBI SWAT team to protect his girlfriend.—
Kaelan Deese,
The Washington Examiner,
1 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Gambling addiction is, in some sense, also especially vexing to treat.—
Jasper Craven,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
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Trump proved to be a vexing ideological lodestar—aggressively anti-intellectual in his attitudes and consistently inconsistent in his views.—
Jason Zengerle,
New Yorker,
24 Jan. 2026
Verb
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But when Russia invaded Ukraine, South Africa repeatedly abstained from United Nations votes on the war—rankling officials in Washington.—
Richard Fontaine,
Foreign Affairs,
27 Oct. 2025
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Trump's administration has come under intense criticism over its handling of records related to the case, rankling many leading voices within the MAGA-sphere.—
Kinsey Crowley,
USA Today,
24 Sep. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Deviling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deviling. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
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