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Like the word devil, "diabolical" traces back to Latin diabolus, which itself descends from Greek diabolos, a word that literally means "slanderer." In English, "diabolical" has many nuances of meaning. It can describe the devil himself (as in "my diabolical visitor") or anything related to or characteristic of him in appearance, behavior, or thought; examples include "diabolical lore," "a diabolical grin," and "a diabolical plot." In British slang, "diabolical" can also mean "disgraceful" or "bad," as in "the food was diabolical."
Synonyms
Examples of diabolical in a Sentence
Jordan Moreau, Variety, 12 Apr. 2024
There’s nothing new about diabolical scammers posing as men of the cloth, of course.
—Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 12 Apr. 2024
The shadow roared in across the lake, like some diabolical gloom or lethal wall of hail.
—Nick Paumgarten, The New Yorker, 9 Apr. 2024
But sometimes a sibling relationship is quite diabolical.
—Justine Kenin, NPR, 28 Mar. 2024
Price is deliciously diabolical in the film, which is full of literal and metaphorical trap doors and secret passageways.
—Katie Rife, EW.com, 12 Mar. 2024
The performance swings back and forth with the diabolical momentum of Poe’s pendulum.
—Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 9 Mar. 2024
While his output – even at AFC Ajax – has never been enormously fruitful, Antony’s current stats are diabolical for a wide forward.
—Liam Canning, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024
Villeneuve’s attempt at moral extremes (Paul the messiah versus his diabolical adversary) suddenly shifts to black and white.
—Armond White, National Review, 1 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'diabolical.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near diabolical
Cite this Entry
“Diabolical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diabolical. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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diabolical
adjective
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