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diabolical

dia·bo·li·cal

UK/ˌdaɪəˈbɒlɪkəɫ/ US/ˌdaɪəˈbɑlɪkəɫ/ uncommon slang

adjective

1.

showing the cunning or ingenuity or wickedness typical of a devil

  • “devilish schemes”
  • “the cold calculation and diabolic art of some statesmen”
  • “the diabolical expression on his face”
  • “a mephistophelian glint in his eye”
2.

extremely evil or cruel; expressive of cruelty or befitting hell

  • “something demonic in him--something that could be cruel”
  • “fires lit up a diabolic scene”
  • “diabolical sorcerers under the influence of devils”
  • “a fiendish despot”
  • “hellish torture”
  • “infernal instruments of war”
  • “satanic cruelty”
  • “unholy grimaces”

Origin

From diabolic + -al.

Related words

Word family

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.