1
as in excessive
going beyond a normal or acceptable limit in degree or amount
that's a devilish amount of bad luck for any person to have to endure
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in demonic
of, relating to, or worthy of an evil spirit
a devilish plan to sabotage the other party's political convention
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3
as in mischievous
tending to or exhibiting reckless playfulness
a devilish grin that told us he was up to something
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of devilish
The star was the female lead, Elena Gilbert, in the series, and also doubled as the devilish Katherine Pierce.
—
Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 9 Sep. 2025
Their faces are devilish in the firelight, the shadows bringing out the angles, the lines of their cheekbones.
—Carly Tagen-Dye, People.com, 21 Aug. 2025
The University of Hong Kong Business School reported that K-pop girl-group Blackpink’s Lisa, a Thai national, posted the devilish doll on Instagram, which caught the attention of a Thai princess; Labubu even became Thailand’s official tourism ambassador.
—Alexandra Harrell, Sourcing Journal, 20 Aug. 2025
This isn’t the first time devilish footwear has generated headlines.
—Riley Jones, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for devilish
Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 9 Sep. 2025
Their faces are devilish in the firelight, the shadows bringing out the angles, the lines of their cheekbones.
—Carly Tagen-Dye, People.com, 21 Aug. 2025
The University of Hong Kong Business School reported that K-pop girl-group Blackpink’s Lisa, a Thai national, posted the devilish doll on Instagram, which caught the attention of a Thai princess; Labubu even became Thailand’s official tourism ambassador.
—Alexandra Harrell, Sourcing Journal, 20 Aug. 2025
This isn’t the first time devilish footwear has generated headlines.
—Riley Jones, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for devilish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for devilish
Adjective
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There was excessive growth of microtubules that wasn’t caused by an increase in gene activity, but likely due to the cells failing to clear away old or misfolded proteins.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
8 Nov. 2025
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But Walpole’s excitement was curbed when they were flagged for excessive celebration.—
Justin Barrasso,
Boston Herald,
8 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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When their biggest demonic enemy (Lee Byung-hun) encourages the formation of an equally popular K-pop boy band aimed at stealing the souls of their fans, the trio has to fight harder than ever to hold the demons at bay while keeping their friendship intact.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
5 Nov. 2025
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Ronnie is able to bite through the cord and separate herself, but her mother — now demonic and decaying — rushes toward her.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
3 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Clearly, Rascal lived up to his mischievous name by finding the well in the first place.—
TJ Macias,
Miami Herald,
29 Oct. 2025
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Mykal-Michelle Harris from Raven’s Home guest-stars as Ruby, a mischievous moon imp who tricks Vee.—
Allison McClain Merrill,
Parents,
27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The research team claims that their strategy offers a novel approach to developing high-performance cathodes capable of operating under extreme temperatures.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Nov. 2025
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The scale runs from G1, minor, to G5, extreme.—
Shane Croucher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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But as old tensions flare between them, Katie begins to experience terrifying visions and a ghostly presence warning of something sinister lurking aboard.—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
6 Nov. 2025
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Which casts a show seemingly designed to bypass all judgments with respect to storytelling and taste, gliding straight to the pleasure center of some imaginary horny, enraged, shopaholic feminine id, in a fairly sinister light.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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With the launch of the Culling Game in the aftermath, 10 colonies from across Japan are transformed into dens of curses as part of a plot orchestrated by the most wicked sorcerer in history, Noritoshi Kamo.—
Nick Romano,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 Nov. 2025
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The rhymes are wicked smart, clever and memorable.—
Jim Harrington,
Mercury News,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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His votes, like his tattoos, just weren’t insane enough anymore.—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
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His voice messages of songs are amazing and insane.—
Kristin Robinson,
Billboard,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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This fourth installment finds plenty to mine from Jigsaw and his diabolical traps — and yes, that silly tricycle-riding clown gets some screen time.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Oct. 2025
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A lot of disturbing things happened in The Exorcist — Regan MacNeil's 360 neck turn remains one of the most diabolical things to happen on film — and for its innovations, the 1973 movie scored 10 Oscar nominations.—
Stephanie Sengwe,
PEOPLE,
30 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Devilish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/devilish. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
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