diabolic

See also: diabòlic

English

Alternative forms

• diabolick (obsolete)

Etymology

First attested between 1350 and 1400 from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle English diabolik, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle French diabolique, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl]  diabolicus, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Ancient Greek διαβολικός (diabolikós, “devilish”), from διάβολος (diábolos, “devil”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌdaɪəˈbɒlɪk/

Adjective

diabolic (comparative more diabolic, superlative most diabolic)

1. Showing wickedness typical of a devil.

   diabolic magic square

   a cunning and diabolic plot

2. Extremely evil or cruel.

   fires lit up a diabolic scene

Synonyms

• devilish, mephistophelian, mephistophelean
• demonic, fiendish, hellish, infernal, satanic, unholy

Derived terms

• diabolical

Translations

showing wickedness typical of a devil

• Bulgarian: дяволски (bg) (djavolski), сатанински (bg) (sataninski)
• Czech: ďábelský
• Esperanto: diabla
• Finnish: paholaismainen, pirullinen (fi)
• French: diabolique (fr)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: teuflisch (de), diabolisch (de)
• Latvian: velnišķs, velnišķīgs
• Portuguese: diabólico (pt)
• Russian: дья́вольский (ru) (dʹjávolʹskij)

extremely evil or cruel

• Bulgarian: зъл (bg) (zǎl), жесток (bg) (žestok)
• Finnish: paholaismainen, pirullinen (fi)
• French: diabolique (fr)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: teuflisch (de), diabolisch (de)
• Portuguese: diabólico (pt)
• Russian: дья́вольский (ru) (dʹjávolʹskij)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Italian: ^{(please verify)} diabolico (it)
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} diabólico
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Telugu: ^{(please verify)} పాశవికమైన (pāśavikamaina), ^{(please verify)} పాశవిక (pāśavika)

References

• Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “diabolic”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams

• biocidal