Pronunciations (3)
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/ˈdɛvəlɪʃ/
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/ˈdɛvɪlɪʃ/
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ˈdɛvəlɪʃ
Adjective
Resembling a devil.
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More examples (2)
Let vs put on our meet incountering mindes, / And in deteſting ſuch a diueliſh Thiefe, / In loue of honor and defence of right / Be arm’d againſt the hate of ſuch a foe, / Whether from earth, or hell, or heauen he grow.
[C]urrently incarcerated Stinc Team members Ketchy the Great, SaySoTheMac, and Bambino; the devilish and gravelly Almighty Suspect; red-clad Inglewooder and headband connoisseur FreeAckrite; baby-faced Martin Luther King Park loiterer Johnny Rose; […]
Evil, wicked.
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For I abhore to smatter / Of one so deuyllysshe a matter.
More examples (3)
[S]ome turne agayne by grace frõ their deadly hereſies into yͤ life of faith, ⁊ ſome be ſo ſore nowſeled in the falſe hereſies, ⁊ in their obſtinate frowardneſſe take ſuch a deueliſhe delight, yͭ finally thei die therin as did Baifield, Bainã, ⁊ Tewkeſbury.
[…] devilish cruelty - for devilish cruelty it was, as three or four drivers armed with whips, lingered up and down the slowly-staggering file of Indians, and avenged every moment's lagging, even every stumble, by a blow of the cruel [whips].
[T]he devilish destructiveness of modern conventional weapons and the need for future Saddam-busters to control their spread. (Think of the damage that a Saddam with longer-range missiles, cleverer warheads and better defences [could do][…].)
Roguish or mischievous.
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a devilish grin
[S]he gave me that lovely devilish smile that said: I like liberty, and not necessarily accountability.
Excessive, extreme.
Usage- Informal
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A devilish effort yielded a devilish success.
I had a devilish time moving the wardrobe downstairs.
Adverb
Devilishly; very; exceedingly.
Usage- Dated
- Informal
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It was devilish hot outside today.
Only I wish it had gone the other way for it's devilish awkward for me as it happens.
More examples (1)
She was bossy and proud, a dreadful sag of skin and bones, and she was a devilish hard worker.
Adjective
showing the cunning or ingenuity or wickedness typical of a devil
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devilish schemes
the cold calculation and diabolic art of some statesmen
More examples (2)
the diabolical expression on his face
a mephistophelian glint in his eye
playful in an appealingly bold way
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a roguish grin
Adverb
in a playfully devilish manner
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the socialists are further handicapped if they believe that capitalists are not only wicked but also devilishly clever