- Theology.
- the supreme spirit of evil; Satan.
- a subordinate evil spirit at enmity with God, and having power to afflict humans both with bodily disease and with spiritual corruption.
- an atrociously wicked, cruel, or ill-tempered person.
- a person who is very clever, energetic, reckless, or mischievous.
- a person, usually one in unfortunate or pitiable circumstances: The poor devil kept losing jobs through no fault of his own.
- a young worker below the level of apprentice in a printing office.
- any of various mechanical devices, as a machine for tearing rags, a machine for manufacturing wooden screws, etc.
- (in deck or hull planking) any of various seams difficult to caulk because of form or position.
- any of various portable furnaces or braziers used in construction and foundry work.
- (used as an emphatic expletive or mild oath to express disgust, anger, astonishment, negation, etc.): What the devil do you mean by that?
- to annoy; harass; pester: to devil Mom and Dad for a new car.
- to tear (rags, cloth, etc.) with a devil.
- to prepare (food, usually minced) with hot or savory seasoning: to devil eggs.
- between two undesirable alternatives; in an unpleasant dilemma.
- extremely difficult or annoying; hellish: I had a devil of a time getting home through the snow.
- to give deserved credit even to a person one dislikes: To give the devil his due, you must admit that she is an excellent psychologist.
- go to the devil,
- to fail completely; lose all hope or chance of succeeding.
- to become depraved.
- (an expletive expressing annoyance, disgust, impatience, etc.)
- to leave the least able or fortunate persons to suffer adverse consequences; leave behind or to one's fate: They ran from the pursuing mob and let the devil take the hindmost.
- to ruin completely; spoil: The financial crisis played the devil with our investment plans.
- raise the devil,
- to cause a commotion or disturbance.
- to celebrate wildly; revel.
- to make an emphatic protest or take drastic measures.
- trouble to be faced; mischief in the offing: If conditions don't improve, there will be the devil to pay.
- the chief spirit of evil and enemy of God, often represented as the ruler of hell and often depicted as a human figure with horns, cloven hoofs, and tail
- one of the subordinate evil spirits of traditional Jewish and Christian belief
- a person or animal regarded as cruel, wicked, or ill-natured
- a person or animal regarded as unfortunate or wretched
- a person or animal regarded as clever, daring, mischievous, or energetic
- something difficult or annoying
- the opposite of truth; an error, lie, or false belief in sin, sickness, and death
- (in Malaysia) a ghost
- a portable furnace or brazier, esp one used in road-making or one used by plumbers
- any of various mechanical devices, usually with teeth, such as a machine for making wooden screws or a rag-tearing machine
- See printer's devil
- (in England) a junior barrister who does work for another in order to gain experience, usually for a half fee
- a small whirlwind in arid areas that raises dust or sand in a column
- between equally undesirable alternatives
- (intensifier)
- to acknowledge the talent or the success of an opponent or unpleasant person
- go to the devil
- to fail or become dissipated
- used to express annoyance with the person causing it
- with great speed, determination, etc
- to make much worse; upset considerably
- raise the devil
- to cause a commotion
- to make a great protest
- used when an absent person who has been the subject of conversation appears
- the devil! (intensifier :)
- used in such phrases as what the devil, where the devil, etc
- an exclamation of anger, surprise, disgust, etc
- a very difficult or problematic (thing)
- look after oneself and leave others to their fate
- problems or trouble to be faced as a consequence of an action
- something very difficult or awkward
- to prepare (esp meat, poultry, or fish) by coating with a highly flavoured spiced paste or mixture of condiments before cooking
- to tear (rags) with a devil
- to serve as a printer's devil
- to do hackwork, esp for a lawyer or author; perform arduous tasks, often without pay or recognition of one's services
- to harass, vex, torment, etc
