devilish
adjective
Did you know?
In the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, Satan is usually referred to as diabolos or “slanderer” (from the Greek verb diaballein, “to slander,” literally “to throw across”). But in the Greek New Testament, the Hebrew word, which is Satanas or Satan in its Greek form, is used as if it were the devil’s proper name. The older Latin translations of the Bible retain Greek diabolos as diabolus, but St. Jerome’s version, the Vulgate, calls the devil Satan. Both words were borrowed into Old English, and we now call this figure both Satan and the Devil. The derived form devilish first appears in the 15th century.
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Examples of devilish in a Sentence
Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2024
Everett arranges the resulting fragments into a grim picture: The folksy charm of Jim, Huck Finn’s loyal traveling companion on the run from slavery, is replaced with the devilish wit of James, a serious, erudite man making tough choices in deadly situations.
—The Atlantic, 4 Dec. 2024
Many people believed that faeries were capable of all sorts of wicked tricks: Stealing babies or children and replacing them with changelings, making devilish bargains, trapping people in the Otherworld for eternity.
—Erik Kain, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024
Crosswinds — which many players have described as one of Royal Troon’s most devilish challenges — make that practice particularly difficult.
—Gabby Herzig, The Athletic, 18 July 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Devilish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/devilish. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
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devilish
adjective
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