English Reference

Word

diablo

Phoneticsdi·a·blo

/ˌdaɪˈæbɫoʊ/

Definition

adj. describing a dish that is cooked with very spicy ingredients, like hot peppers or strong mustard.

adj. prepared with hot spices or a piquant sauce, often featuring mustard or chili peppers. Typically used as a postpositive modifier in culinary contexts.

Examples

“The chef prepared a spicy shrimp diablo for the special.”

“We ordered the chicken diablo, which came smothered in a dark, fiery sauce that lived up to its name.”

“The traditional preparation of eggs diablo involves devilling the yolks with a heavy hand of cayenne and dry mustard to achieve a sharp, lingering heat.”

Examples

simple

“The chef prepared a spicy shrimp diablo for the special.”

contextual

“We ordered the chicken diablo, which came smothered in a dark, fiery sauce that lived up to its name.”

complex

“The traditional preparation of eggs diablo involves devilling the yolks with a heavy hand of cayenne and dry mustard to achieve a sharp, lingering heat.”

Usage

In culinary contexts, often follows the noun it modifies (e.g., 'shrimp diablo').

Etymology

From Spanish diablo (“devil”).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Domain

Cooking

This entry

Level
C2 · Proficiency
Frequency
Frequent
Updated

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English Reference