1
as in demonic
of, relating to, or worthy of an evil spirit
a fiendish delight in playing cruel tricks
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2
as in brutal
having or showing the desire to inflict severe pain and suffering on others
shook with fiendish laughter as he watched his victims writhe in agony
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fiendish
Johann Sebastian Bach’s The Art of Fugue is a fiendish work of near-mythical status.
—
Genevieve Marks, Air Mail, 25 Oct. 2025
But a new shingle (and URL) outside the Pentagon does not solve the fiendish challenges of running the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard and Space Force.
—Andreas Kluth, Twin Cities, 11 Sep. 2025
The entirety of the conundrum that the Epstein files have presented to the Trump administration was created because Trump and his subordinates continuously dangled the carrot of releasing the Epstein files and of holding elites accountable for their fiendish behavior.
—Rafael Perez, Oc Register, 10 Aug. 2025
But that’s just the cherry on top of a perfectly cartoonish opening to the best film this fiendish horror franchise from the 2000s has ever known.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 13 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for fiendish
Genevieve Marks, Air Mail, 25 Oct. 2025
But a new shingle (and URL) outside the Pentagon does not solve the fiendish challenges of running the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard and Space Force.
—Andreas Kluth, Twin Cities, 11 Sep. 2025
The entirety of the conundrum that the Epstein files have presented to the Trump administration was created because Trump and his subordinates continuously dangled the carrot of releasing the Epstein files and of holding elites accountable for their fiendish behavior.
—Rafael Perez, Oc Register, 10 Aug. 2025
But that’s just the cherry on top of a perfectly cartoonish opening to the best film this fiendish horror franchise from the 2000s has ever known.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 13 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for fiendish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fiendish
Adjective
-
The whole thing was like being seized by some kind of creative, semi-demonic power and taking dictation.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Accordingly, medieval epic poems and art often depicted Muslims as near-demonic, bloodthirsty figures wearing turbans and strange robes.—
Anna Piela,
The Conversation,
13 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Seventy percent of tomatoes consumed in the United States come from Mexico, where the weather was also brutal, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF).—
Vanessa Yurkevich,
CNN Money,
17 Apr. 2026
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For Asmae El Moudir in The Mother of All Lies, that meant using miniatures to coax out details of her family’s experiences during Morocco’s brutal Years of Lead.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
17 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Needless to say, something very sinister and deadly lies at the end of their path.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
11 Apr. 2026
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The author, known for sinister tales like The Whistler and Sisters of the Lost Nation, has built a reputation for reinventing classic horror tropes by weaving in Native American folklore and stories passed down from his grandmother, an elder of the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana.—
Angelique Brenes,
PEOPLE,
10 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Dahl’s books are fanciful and imaginative, but also dark, cynical, and mean (and, unfortunately, often reflected his real-life ugliness), spinning stories in which gruesome and unpleasant fates befell rotten kids, and adults were frequently selfish, cruel, and not to be trusted.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
10 Apr. 2026
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Violating that trust is both cruel and unlawful.—
DeJanay Booth-Singleton,
CBS News,
10 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
So ChatGPT didn’t come up with a diabolical plan.—
Amanda Gefter,
Quanta Magazine,
10 Apr. 2026
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At its core, DTF is an apt, idiosyncratic portrait of the male-loneliness epidemic and the diabolical advent of dating technology in the 21st century.—
Andy Andersen,
Vulture,
6 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Inexplicable, loud, kinetic, vicious.—
Caroline Mimbs Nyce,
New Yorker,
17 Apr. 2026
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That is, until the union starts not-so-quietly exploding during a vicious screaming match at their home following a fundraising event.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
17 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The lawsuit claims 10 violations of state and federal law, including retaliation, unlawful arrest, unlawful seizure, malicious prosecution and conspiracy and seeks an unspecified amount of money for damages.—
Katie Langford,
Denver Post,
16 Apr. 2026
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This, proponents said, would flag cases where parents might be removing children from school for malicious reasons while sparing those who have done nothing wrong.—
Theo Peck-Suzuki,
Hartford Courant,
15 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The famed African American journalist investigated lynchings across the South and wrote about the savage incidents that the white press had already explained away.—
Case Thorp,
The Orlando Sentinel,
5 Apr. 2026
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The loss of books is minor, almost trivial, in light of all the horrors and violence unleashed by this senseless war, but the potential loss of these books is a sad reminder that we’re all affected and implicated in America’s savage flailings.—
James Folta,
Literary Hub,
17 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fiendish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fiendish. Accessed 18 Apr. 2026.
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