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"
Used in a Sentence
diabolical
How to use diabolical in a sentence. Example sentences and definitions for diabolical.
Editorial note
To turn around and accuse me of being a part of a diabolical conspiracy was out of left field.
Examples9
Definitions2
Parts of speech1
Quick take
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"
Meaning at a glance
The clearest senses and uses of diabolical gathered in one view.
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"
Definitions
Core meanings and parts of speech for diabolical.
adjective
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"
See also: devilish, diabolic, mephistophelian, mephistophelean
adjective
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"
See also: demonic, diabolic, fiendish, hellish, infernal, satanic, unholy
Example sentences
To turn around and accuse me of being a part of a diabolical conspiracy was out of left field.
Their communication and marketing was, and still is, diabolical.
It paints us as diabolical geniuses running around spying on everyone and everything.
I cannot fathom why this article was titled this way. I skimmed it solely to find out what diabolical damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't, torment-your-soul "choice" could be involved.
At the really diabolical end of the spectrum I could show you an Ericsson documentation template that manages to manifest dozens of bugs in Word, laying in wait to eat your previous hour's work.
How do you discover if you have a condition like this?I bet that could be a diabolical problem - you need cognitive surplus to recognize you have a problem, and investigate what the causes might be and how you can identify them.
When you learn how money really works, you begin to understand just how diabolical our entire socio-economic system is. Inflation, recessions, boom-bust, the stock market, fractional reserve banking, interest rates... it's all rigged, a giant shell game, and it boils down to an invisible whip that the rich use to keep people working for things they don't really need and to pay taxes for the sole purpose of perpetuating a perverted economic system.
>The novelty of this particular famine, what made it so diabolical, is that it was the deliberate creation of a bureaucratic mindAs opposed to the Indian and Irish famines where strong state intervention would have saved the majority of the people but the sacrosanct ideas of free market capitalism did not allow that.
> "Ive often thought that the single most devastating cyberattack a diabolical and anarchic mind could design would not be on the military or financial sector but simply to simultaneously make every e-mail and text ever sent universally public... the fabric of society would instantly evaporate, every marriage, friendship and business partnership dissolved.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers drawn from the clearest meanings and examples for this word.
How do you use diabolical in a sentence?
To turn around and accuse me of being a part of a diabolical conspiracy was out of left field.
What does diabolical mean?
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"
What part of speech is diabolical?
diabolical is commonly used as adjective.