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
There's a little bit for every guy, girl and ghoul, no matter what your fiendish tastes.
—
Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 3 Oct. 2024
The red Indian of the Western plains tied his prisoner to the stake, tortured him, and danced in fiendish glee while his victim writhed in the flames.
—Liz Tracey, JSTOR Daily, 21 Feb. 2025
Jumbo brings a humanizing clarity to Lady Macbeth without in the least compromising her character’s fiendish side.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2025
But an indie Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, or even Skate, this is not: Eng is whisking us off to the nine hellish layers of the underworld to complete a series of fiendish skateboarding trials.
—Lewis Gordon, Vulture, 8 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fiendish
Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 3 Oct. 2024
The red Indian of the Western plains tied his prisoner to the stake, tortured him, and danced in fiendish glee while his victim writhed in the flames.
—Liz Tracey, JSTOR Daily, 21 Feb. 2025
Jumbo brings a humanizing clarity to Lady Macbeth without in the least compromising her character’s fiendish side.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2025
But an indie Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, or even Skate, this is not: Eng is whisking us off to the nine hellish layers of the underworld to complete a series of fiendish skateboarding trials.
—Lewis Gordon, Vulture, 8 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fiendish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fiendish
Adjective
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Supernatural conjured a variety of demonic baddies across its 15 seasons and 327 episodes (!).—
Declan Gallagher,
EW.com,
3 July 2025
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Indeed, Riri was in the midst of veritably inhaling sliders, crinkle cut fries and loads of information about the demonic Dormammu when her binge got crashed by the Bloods.—
Matt Webb Mitovich,
TVLine,
2 July 2025
Adjective
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The 28-year-old is playing on a medical exemption after a brutal stretch of injuries and illness.—
Devlina Sarkar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 June 2025
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The Royals lost to the Dodgers on Friday night, a brutal 5-4 loss as Jac Caglianone grounded into a double play to conclude the 11th straight home loss.—
Sam McDowell,
Kansas City Star,
28 June 2025
Adjective
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Before long, his life is plagued by a series of mysterious, sinister incidents that threaten to upend his success and bring about a most violent demise.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
1 July 2025
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He’s then forced to compete in a sinister game of hide-and-seek, where even more players are eliminated.—
Monica Mercuri,
Forbes.com,
28 June 2025
Adjective
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Politics remains a cruel business and the governor has been on the frontline of it for nearly 20 years, winning and losing.—
Kevin Rennie,
Hartford Courant,
5 July 2025
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They were joined by actors playing the contestants, who lurched along wearing expressions of exaggerated horror, as though the cruel stakes of the game had just been revealed to them.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
4 July 2025
Adjective
-
The author presents a vicious takedown of George Washington.—
Chadd Scott,
Forbes.com,
9 July 2025
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Stanton, demonstrating that there’s still plenty of power in his vicious swing, sent the pitch 401 feet the other way at 106.1 mph.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
9 July 2025
Adjective
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As savage Arctic cold was getting ready to surge south across North America, vivid imagery based on data from weather models showed us what was going to happen.—
Tom Yulsman,
Discover Magazine,
27 Dec. 2022
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The 2023 grand marshal is former Arizona Democratic congresswoman Gabby Giffords, gravely wounded in a savage mass shooting in 2011 that also killed six people.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Dec. 2022
Adjective
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The event includes a beer, then beer pong, a second beer, then cornhole, a third beer, then flip cup, a keg race, then the diabolical Run, Forrest, Run race around the block — two times!—
Ben Crandell,
Sun Sentinel,
3 July 2025
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Theologian, pastor and writer, Bonhoeffer had a role in a scheme to remove Hitler from power because of Hitler’s diabolical persecution of Jews and others.—
Walt Shelton,
Austin American Statesman,
2 July 2025
Adjective
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As a member of a crew that robs banks, Mr. Blonde is the most ruthless.—
James Brizuela,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 July 2025
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President Donald Trump has mounted a ruthless onslaught on the checks and balances established in the Constitution.—
Steve Chapman,
Chicago Tribune,
2 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fiendish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fiendish. Accessed 13 Jul. 2025.
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