Word
devilish
Phoneticsdev·il·ish
US/ˈdɛvɫɪʃ/
UK/dˈɛvɪlɪʃ/
Definitions
01mischievous
adj. playfully naughty or cheeky in a way that is often attractive.
adj. roguish or mischievous in a manner that suggests a playful disregard for rules.
“He had a devilish grin on his face as he hid his sister's keys.”
“The actor played the character with a devilish charm that made the audience root for the villain despite his crimes.”
Synonyms
02wicked or evil
adj. very bad, cruel, or evil.
adj. resembling or characteristic of a devil; showing extreme wickedness or cruelty.
“The dictator was known for his devilish cruelty toward his own people.”
“The novel explores the devilish impulses that can drive an otherwise ordinary man to commit unspeakable acts.”
Literary
Synonyms
03extremely difficult
adj. very difficult to deal with or solve.
adj. extremely difficult, frustrating, or troublesome to handle.
“The last question on the math exam was truly devilish.”
“The mountain road was full of devilish turns that tested the skills of even the most experienced drivers.”
Informal
04very or extremely
adv. used to mean 'very' or 'extremely' to emphasize a quality.
adv. used as an intensifier meaning 'exceedingly' or 'very'.
“It was a devilish cold morning, so we decided to stay inside.”
“The young lord was described as being devilish handsome, though his reputation in the city was poor.”
Informal · Archaic
Real-World Examples
“Ramsey is shown suppressing a devilish smirk, suggesting they might be a Traitor.” Etymology
From Middle English develissh, develyssh, equivalent to devil + -ish. Cognate with Saterland Frisian düvelsk, düüwelsk (“devilish”), West Frisian duvelsk (“devilish”), Dutch duivels (“devilish”), German Low German düvelsk (“devilish”), German teuflisch (“devilish”), Danish djævelsk (“devilish”), Swedish djävulsk (“devilish”), Norwegian djevelsk (“devilish”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/devilish