Mephistopheles
noun
Meph·is·toph·e·les
ˌme-fə-ˈstä-fə-ˌlēz 
: a chief devil in the Faust legend
Mephistophelian
adjective
or Mephistophelean
Examples of Mephistopheles in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Inspired by the demon Mephistopheles, Mephisto lords over a dimension in the underworld and is determined to acquire as many souls of the living as possible.
—
Nick Romano, EW.com, 26 Sep. 2024
Adrian started out as a theology student, but the stakes of Mann’s novel are not, at heart, theological—Adrian has a maddening case of syphilis, and that is the secular portal through which Mephistopheles makes his entry.
—James Wood, The New Yorker, 5 Aug. 2024
The Kit Kat Club’s master of ceremonies is a kind of Mephistopheles, and also—if an actor really nails it—a sinister mirage of ambiguity.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 21 Apr. 2024
In the Mephistopheles movement, Bernstein augments the infernal atmosphere by having the strings play sul ponticello—a ghastly slithering of the bow near the bridge.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2023
Nick Romano, EW.com, 26 Sep. 2024
Adrian started out as a theology student, but the stakes of Mann’s novel are not, at heart, theological—Adrian has a maddening case of syphilis, and that is the secular portal through which Mephistopheles makes his entry.
—James Wood, The New Yorker, 5 Aug. 2024
The Kit Kat Club’s master of ceremonies is a kind of Mephistopheles, and also—if an actor really nails it—a sinister mirage of ambiguity.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 21 Apr. 2024
In the Mephistopheles movement, Bernstein augments the infernal atmosphere by having the strings play sul ponticello—a ghastly slithering of the bow near the bridge.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'Mephistopheles.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near Mephistopheles
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“Mephistopheles.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Mephistopheles. Accessed 2 Oct. 2024.
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