devildev‧il /ˈdevəl/ ●●○ S3 noun 
The villagers believed a devil had taken control of his body.3speak of the devil (also talk of the devil British English) spoken used when someone you have just been talking about walks into the room where you are4poor/lucky/handsome etc devil spoken used to talk about someone who you feel sorry for, who is lucky etc: What on earth is wrong with the poor devil?5little/old devil spoken used to talk about a child or an older man who behaves badly, but who you like: He’s a naughty little devil. I really miss the old devil.6be a devil British English spoken used to persuade someone to do something they are not sure they should do: Go on, be a devil, have another gin and tonic.7what/who/why etc the devil? old-fashioned spoken used to show that you are surprised or annoyed: How the devil should I know what she’s thinking?8 a devil of a time/job etc old-fashioned spoken a difficult or unpleasant time, job etc: We had a devil of a job trying to get the carpet clean again.9go to the devil! old-fashioned spoken used to tell someone rudely to go away or stop annoying you10do something like the devil old-fashioned spoken to do something very fast or using a lot of force: They rang the bell and ran like the devil.11better the devil you know (than the devil you don’t) used to say that it is better to deal with someone or something you know, even if you do not like them, than to deal with someone or something new that might be worse12between the devil and the deep blue sea in a difficult situation because there are only two choices you can make and both of them are unpleasant13... and the devil take the hindmost used to say that everyone in a situation only cares about what happens to themselves and does not care about other people14the devil makes/finds work for idle hands used to say that people who do not have enough to do will start to do bad things15the devil is in the detail used to say that the details of a plan, agreement etc are very important and may result in problems → devil's advocate
WORD ORIGINdevil
Origin:
Old English deofol, from Greek diabolosEXAMPLES FROM THE CORPUS
- Beside him stood a devil in red tights with horns and a forked tail.
- But he was an old man nevertheless, with young boys being so close and full of the devil.
- I said, if it wasn't true, then the devils would be exorcized.
- If we come really unstuck, then we can blame the devil!
- The Bible makes it clear that the devil and his forces are the masters of misrepresentation.
- There was a representation of the devil carrying off the wicked to Hades.
- What the devil does he want?
Longman Language Activatorto arrive unexpectedly
· We were just having breakfast when Amy appeared.appear at/in/from · Neil appeared at my house around 9 o'clock.· All these people seem to have appeared from nowhere.
to arrive without warning, especially when it is difficult or not convenient for other people: · Brian has a habit of turning up just at the wrong moment.· At midnight Joanne's boyfriend showed up drunk.
if someone or something comes along, it arrives, especially in a way that is unexpected or slightly unusual: · We were having a good time until Ronnie came along.· Bill and I waited an hour for a bus, and then four of them came along at once.
British /speak of the devil American say this when someone you are talking about or have just mentioned comes into the room or arrives unexpectedly: · Talk of the devil! I was just telling everyone about your promotion.· Let's ask Amy what she thinks - speak of the devil, here she is!
WORD SETSbanshee, nouncoven, noundemon, noundemonic, adjectivedevil, nounESP, nounevil, adjectiveexorcism, nounexorcist, nounexorcize, verbextra-sensory perception, nounfiend, nounfortune-teller, nounmedium, nounmind reader, nounnecromancy, nounpalmist, nounpalmistry, nounpalm reader, nounparanormal, adjectiveparapsychology, nounpossessed, adjectiveprophecy, nounprophesy, verbpsychic, adjectivepsychic, nounpsychokinesis, nounseance, nounsoothsayer, nounspirit, nounSvengali, nountarot, nountelepathic, adjectivetelepathy, nounwitch, nounwizard, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES You did that on purpose, you cheeky little devil! a devil-may-care attitude to life He would play devil’s advocate with anyone. The media cast him as the devil incarnate (=someone very evil). She was convinced he was possessed by the devil.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE
You did that on purpose, you cheeky little devil! a devil-may-care attitude to life He would play devil’s advocate with anyone. The media cast him as the devil incarnate (=someone very evil). She was convinced he was possessed by the devil.· There are blue devils and blue ribbons and blue bloods.
· He was a handsome devil, clever and presumably extremely well off.· She said I was a handsome devil, too.
· Indeed, I worship the little devil, but only as a travelling companion.· That brute Cullam fetched him a fourpenny one, poor little devil.· Those little devils just don't care what they eat, do they?
· There was one old devil with red eyes.· Not that he's the worst of them, poor old devil.· I really miss the old devil.· Impotent old devils and dried-up hags always deride the efforts of the young.· So much, thought Blanche, for flirting with the lascivious old devil.· Nor had they, because the old devils had filled their shoes with earth from Balnagowan in Easter Ross.· He was a real old devil.
· I was driving past and tried to stop this poor devil getting beaten up.· I know bow the poor devil feels.· This isn't a propitious start for him, poor devil.· Not that he's the worst of them, poor old devil.· He loathed the sterile ritual of inspections, and this poor devil in his untimely end had saved him from that.· What on earth was eating the poor devil?· And the poor devil can't hide a thing from her.· But, after doing so, the surviving poor devils were discarded like a bunch of rags.
VERB· The devils knew that all men sinned, and all men must die.· For much of the Bloc, then, the solution may be to opt for the devil they know.· Better the devil you know than the devil you don't.· He was also, on the whole, for the Khedive on the grounds that at least he was the devil they knew.· Is the devil we know better than the devil we don't know?· Better the devil you know ....· But we're dealing with a devil we don't know and we're paying the devil more than his due.
· I even drew a donkey playing and a devil dancing.
· She told him then, unable to help herself: he was possessed by devils.· Instead, she said, Ells told her she was possessed by devils.· Why the Story was Remembered A poor man believed himself to be possessed by many devils.· Instead of praise, she was told she was possessed by the devil.· If he were possessed by devils, Kate thought, it would be a simple explanation.
· What the devil was he talking about?
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY► go to the devil!► the devil► better the devil you know (than the devil you don’t)► between the devil and the deep blue sea► ... and the devil take the hindmost► the devil makes/finds work for idle hands► the devil is in the detail► speak of the devilPHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► needs must (when the devil drives)► the devil/hell to pay
1 the devil (also the Devil) the most powerful evil spirit in some religions, especially in Christianity SYN Satan2[countable] an evil spirit SYN demon: - He is a devil from the conservative point of view.
- It was almost as if there was a devil inside him.
- Some people considered this stranger to be a devil changed into the illusion of an angel of light, or a witch.
- There may be devils afoot, though not necessarily white.
- Now what the devil was he to do?
- So who the devil are these two engaging, literate, drug-free chatterers sitting down the pub?
- What the devil are you getting at?
- What the devil does he want?
- What the devil have you been doing to yourself?
- What the devil was he talking about?
- Why the devil do you think I came haring over here?
- Why the devil was she so stubborn?
- But I've always found the Flying V and its derivatives a devil of a job to sit down with and play.
- He was taking a devil of a time to change.
- If he filled those in they'd have a devil of a job lifting them!
- It took me a devil of a time to find it I can tell you.
- They rang the doorbell and ran like the devil.
- He holds me like the devil himself.
- Hencke heard one canister bounce off the outer hull with a dull echo like the Devil knocking at the door.
- It glared and it floated and it flew like the Devil.
- Not screaming, although some of them must have fought like the devil not to.
- The hitchhiker keeps showing up, like a bad dream, like the devil himself.
- They scampered off, barking like the devil.
- Very good, Thérèse conceded afterwards: just like the Devil would do.
- And the poor devil can't hide a thing from her.
- Eliot has it perhaps worse than I have - poor devil.
- He loathed the sterile ritual of inspections, and this poor devil in his untimely end had saved him from that.
- He was a handsome devil, clever and presumably extremely well off.
- I know bow the poor devil feels.
- I was driving past and tried to stop this poor devil getting beaten up.
- This isn't a propitious start for him, poor devil.
- What on earth was eating the poor devil?
- A true old devil, Manson vanishes in a puff of smoke.
- I really miss the old devil.
- Impotent old devils and dried-up hags always deride the efforts of the young.
- Indeed, I worship the little devil, but only as a travelling companion.
- Not that he's the worst of them, poor old devil.
- So much, thought Blanche, for flirting with the lascivious old devil.
- There was one old devil with red eyes.
- A true old devil, Manson vanishes in a puff of smoke.
- He is not a character I like at all because I think he was just an old rascal.
- I really miss the old devil.
- Impotent old devils and dried-up hags always deride the efforts of the young.
- Not that he's the worst of them, poor old devil.
- There was one old devil with red eyes.
- Yet, in spite of everything, David Miller grew up to idolise the old rascal.
- A whole week in Paris at Easter seemed to her something for which she would willingly have sold her soul.
- Faustus wilfully ends himself; he sells his soul to the devil.
- He doesn't accuse us of selling our souls.
- If he were mine, I would rather sell my soul.
- Men who have sold their souls to the darkness.
- She was accused of being a Salem witch for selling her soul to the devil at the strawberry banks.
- The fact that we would literally sell our soul to Continental Airlines.
- Timothy was agonising over her, when Honor West would have sold her soul for a single kiss from him.
The villagers believed a devil had taken control of his body.3speak of the devil (also talk of the devil British English) spoken used when someone you have just been talking about walks into the room where you are4poor/lucky/handsome etc devil spoken used to talk about someone who you feel sorry for, who is lucky etc: What on earth is wrong with the poor devil?5little/old devil spoken used to talk about a child or an older man who behaves badly, but who you like: He’s a naughty little devil. I really miss the old devil.6be a devil British English spoken used to persuade someone to do something they are not sure they should do: Go on, be a devil, have another gin and tonic.7what/who/why etc the devil? old-fashioned spoken used to show that you are surprised or annoyed: How the devil should I know what she’s thinking?8 a devil of a time/job etc old-fashioned spoken a difficult or unpleasant time, job etc: We had a devil of a job trying to get the carpet clean again.9go to the devil! old-fashioned spoken used to tell someone rudely to go away or stop annoying you10do something like the devil old-fashioned spoken to do something very fast or using a lot of force: They rang the bell and ran like the devil.11better the devil you know (than the devil you don’t) used to say that it is better to deal with someone or something you know, even if you do not like them, than to deal with someone or something new that might be worse12between the devil and the deep blue sea in a difficult situation because there are only two choices you can make and both of them are unpleasant13... and the devil take the hindmost used to say that everyone in a situation only cares about what happens to themselves and does not care about other people14the devil makes/finds work for idle hands used to say that people who do not have enough to do will start to do bad things15the devil is in the detail used to say that the details of a plan, agreement etc are very important and may result in problems → devil's advocate