devil /devˈl or -il/

1. An evil spirit
2. (with cap) the supreme spirit of evil
3. A wicked person
4. Reckless, lively person
5. (usu pitying) a fellow
6. An animal, thing, problem, difficult, etc to deal with
7. Someone who excels or exceeds in anything
8. A printer's devil
9. A drudge (esp law or literary)
10. A firework
11. A grilled or highly seasoned dish
12. A dust storm
13. Fighting spirit
14. A plumber's portable furnace
15. A machine of various kinds, esp for tearing
16. Used as a mild oath, an expression of impatience, irritation, etc, or a strong negative

1. To season highly and broil
2. To worry or pester (N American)

1. To perform another person's drudgery
2. To do very menial work

devˈildom noun

devˈiless noun

devˈilet, devˈiling or devˈling noun

1. A young devil
2. A swift (dialect)

devˈilish adjective

1. Fiendish, malignant
2. Very bad

Often /devˈlish/ (informal) very, exceedingly

devˈilishly adverb

devˈilishness noun

devˈilism noun

devˈilkin noun

devˈilled adjective

devˈilment noun

Frolicsome mischief

devˈilry noun

devˈilship noun

devˈiltry noun (US)

devˈil-crab noun

The velvet-crab

devˈil-dodger noun (slang)

1. A preacher, esp of the ranting kind
2. Someone who attends churches of various kinds, to be on the safe side

devˈilfish noun

1. The fishing-frog or angler
2. The giant ray of the United States
3. The octopus

devˈil-in-a-bush noun

A garden flower, love-in-a-mist

devˈil-may-careˈ adjective

Reckless, audacious

devˈil-on-the-neck noun

An old instrument of torture

devˈil-on-two-sticks noun

An older name for diabolo

devil's advocate noun

1. Advocatus diaboli, the Promoter of the Faith, an advocate at the papal court whose duty it is to propose objections against a canonization (RC)
2. A person who states the case against a proposal, course of action, etc, usu for the sake of argument

devˈil's-bit noun

A species of scabious (Succisa pratensis) with rootstock as if bitten off

devil's bones plural noun

Dice

devil's books plural noun

Playing-cards

devil's coach-horse noun

A large dark-coloured beetle (Staphylinus olens) that turns up its tail when threatened

devil's darning-needle noun (informal)

A dragonfly or damselfly

devil's dozen noun

Thirteen

devil's dung noun

Asafoetida

devil's dust noun

Shoddy made by a machine called the devil

devil's food cake noun (chiefly N American)

A kind of chocolate cake

devils on horseback plural noun

Prunes wrapped in bacon, grilled, and served on toast

devil's own noun

A name given to the 88th Regiment in the Peninsular War, also to the Inns of Court Volunteers

devil's picture books plural noun

(also in sing) same as devil's books above

devil's snuff-box noun

A puffball

devil's tattoo see under tattoo²

devˈil-worship noun

1. The worship of the Devil, or of devils
2. Satanism
3. The Yezidi religion

devˈil-worshipper noun

between the devil and the deep (blue) sea

1. In a desperate dilemma
2. Faced with alternatives that are equally undesirable

devil a bit, a one or a thing, etc

Not at all, not one, etc

devil of a mess

A very bad mess

devil take the hindmost

Take care of yourself and never mind about others

• referrers
• referrible
• referring
• refers
• reffed
• reffing
• reffo
• reffos
• refi
• refigure
• refigured
• refigures
• refiguring
• refill
• refillable
• refilled
• refilling
• refills
• refinancing
• refinancings
• refine
• refined
• refinedly
• refinedness
• refinednesses