devil

noun

/ˈdevl/

Idioms

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the Devil
(in the Christian, Jewish and Muslim religions基督教、犹太教和伊斯兰教) the most powerful evil being魔王；撒旦 synonym Satan
- belief in the Devil对魔鬼的信仰
- His strong left-wing views make him the devil incarnate to more extreme Conservatives.他的极左观点使得他在极端保守党人眼中成了魔鬼的化身。
Topics Religion and festivalsc1
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
verb + devil
- believe in
- worship
- be possessed by
- …
devil + noun
- worship
- worshipper
phrases
- the devil incarnate
See full entry
an evil spirit魔鬼；恶魔
- They believed she was possessed by devils.他们认为她是魔鬼附身。
- He behaved like someone possessed by devils.他的行为像着了魔一样。
Topics Religion and festivalsc1
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
verb + devil
- believe in
- worship
- be possessed by
- …
devil + noun
- worship
- worshipper
phrases
- the devil incarnate
See full entry
(informal) a person who behaves badly, especially a child淘气鬼；冒失鬼；调皮鬼
- a naughty little devil小淘气鬼
see also she-devil
(old-fashioned, informal) used to talk about somebody and to emphasize an opinion that you have of them（强调对某人的看法）人，家伙
- I miss the old devil, now that he's gone.老家伙这一走，我还真想他。
- She's off to Greece for a month—lucky devil!她休假去希腊一个月，真够幸运的！
- James was a handsome devil and rich, too.詹姆斯是个英俊的魔鬼，也很富有。
- They were handsome young devils in their uniforms, weren't they?他们是穿着制服的年轻英俊的魔鬼，不是吗？

see also dust devil

Word OriginOld English dēofol (related to Dutch duivel and German Teufel), via late Latin from Greek diabolos ‘accuser, slanderer’ (used in the Septuagint to translate Hebrew śāṭān ‘Satan’), from diaballein ‘to slander’, from dia ‘across’ + ballein ‘to throw’.

Idioms

be a devil

(British English) people say Be a devil! to encourage somebody to do something that they are not sure about doing（用以鼓励）别怕，勇敢点
- Go on, be a devil, buy both of them.来，怕什么，两个都买了吧。

better the devil you know (than the devil you don’t)

(saying) used to say that it is easier and wiser to stay in a bad situation that you know and can deal with rather than change to a new situation that may be much worse熟悉的魔鬼比不熟悉的魔鬼好；不要嫌熟悉的环境不好，换个不熟悉的环境可能更糟

between the devil and the deep blue sea

in a difficult situation where there are two equally unpleasant or unacceptable choices 进退维谷；左右为难Topics Preferences and decisionsc2

the devil

(old-fashioned) very difficult or unpleasant非常困难；令人非常不快
- These berries are the devil to pick because they're so small.这些浆果太小了，很难摘。

the devil looks after his own

(saying) bad people often seem to have good luck坏人多好运；坏蛋自有鬼照顾；恶人自有恶人帮

the devil makes work for idle hands

(saying) people who do not have enough to do often start to do wrong人闲生是非
- She blamed the crimes on the local jobless teenagers. ‘The devil makes work for idle hands,’ she would say.她认为那些违法活动是当地的无业青少年所为，总是说：“人一闲，惹麻烦。”

a devil of a job/time

(old-fashioned) a very difficult or unpleasant job or time费力（或令人讨厌）的事；难熬（或令人不快）的日子
- I've had a devil of a job finding you.我费了九牛二虎之力才找到你。

the devil/hell to pay

(informal) a lot of trouble大麻烦；大乱子
- There'll be hell to pay when he finds out.一旦他发现了真相，那麻烦就大了。

go to the devil!

(old-fashioned, informal) used, in an unfriendly way, to tell somebody to go away滚开；见鬼去；去你的

like the devil

(old-fashioned, informal) very hard, fast, etc.拼命；卖力；飞快
- We ran like the devil.我们跑得飞快。

sell your soul (to the devil)

to do anything, even something really bad or dishonest, in return for money, success or power出卖灵魂（或良心）Topics Successc2

speak/talk of the devil

(informal) people say speak/talk of the devil when somebody they have been talking about appears unexpectedly说到某人，某人就到
- Well, speak of the devil—here's Alice now!嗬，说谁谁到——瞧，艾丽斯这就来啦！

what, where, who, why, etc. the devil…

(old-fashioned) used in questions to show that you are annoyed or surprised（用于问句表示烦恼或吃惊）究竟…，到底…
- What the devil do you think you're doing?你到底知不知道自己在干什么？