adj. prenom. 1. both plant- and flesh-eating; -- said of animals. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bedevilled (&unr_;); p. pr. & vb. n. Bedeviling or Bedevilling. ] 1. To throw into utter disorder and confusion, as if by the agency of evil spirits; to bring under diabolical influence; to torment. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bedeviled and used worse than St. Bartholomew. Sterne. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To spoil; to corrupt. Wright. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state of being bedeviled; bewildering confusion; vexatious trouble. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

‖a. [ F., hitherto, formerly. ] Former; previous; of times gone by; as, a ci-devant governor. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A reckless fellow. Also used adjectively; as, dare-devil excitement. [ 1913 Webster ]

A humorous dare-devil -- the very man
To suit my prpose. Ld. Lytton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n; pl. Dare-deviltries Reckless mischief; the action of a dare-devil. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A half devil. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖or ‖(&unr_;), n. [ Skr. d&unr_;va. Cf. Deity. ] (Hind. Myth.) A god; a deity; a divine being; an idol; a king. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ Skr. dēvanāgarī; dēva god + nagara city, i. e., divine city. ] The script or characters in which Sanskrit and Hindi are written. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

n. The change of vapor into water, as in the formation of rain. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ Cf. F. dévaster. See Devastate. ] To devastate. [ Obs. ] Bolingbroke. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Devastated; p. pr. & vb. n. Devastating. ] [ L. devastatus, p. p. of devastare to devastate; de + vastare to lay waste, vastus waste. See Vast. ] To lay waste; to ravage; to desolate. [ 1913 Webster ]

Whole countries . . . were devastated. Macaulay.

Syn. -- To waste; ravage; desolate; destroy; demolish; plunder; pillage. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. same as desolated.
Syn. -- blasted, desolate, desolated, ravaged, ruined, wasted. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

adj. 1. highly critical; making light of; as, a devastating portrait of human folly.
Syn. -- annihilating, withering. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. causing or capable of causing complete destruction; as, a devastating hurricane.
Syn. -- annihilative. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ Cf. F. dévastation. ] 1. The act of devastating, or the state of being devastated; a laying waste. [ 1913 Webster ]

Even now the devastation is begun,
And half the business of destruction done. Goldsmith. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Law) Waste of the goods of the deceased by an executor or administrator. Blackstone.

Syn. -- Desolation; ravage; waste; havoc; destruction; ruin; overthrow. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. ] One who, or that which, devastates. Emerson. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ L., he has wasted. ] (Law) Waste or misapplication of the assets of a deceased person by an executor or an administrator. Bouvier. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ Hind., fr. Skr. d&unr_;va god. ] (Hind. Myth.) A deity; a divine being; a good spirit; an idol. [ Written also dewata. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ See Deaf. ] Deaf. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) The European swift. [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Developed p. pr. & vb. n. Developing. ] [ F. déveloper; dé- (L. dis-) + OF. voluper, voleper, to envelop, perh. from L. volup agreeably, delightfully, and hence orig., to make agreeable or comfortable by enveloping, to keep snug (cf. Voluptuous); or. perh. fr. a derivative of volvere, volutum, to roll (cf. Devolve). Cf. Envelop. ] [ Written also develope. ] 1. To free from that which infolds or envelops; to unfold; to lay open by degrees or in detail; to make visible or known; to disclose; to produce or give forth; as, to develop theories; a motor that develops 100 horse power. [ 1913 Webster ]

These serve to develop its tenets. Milner. [ 1913 Webster ]

The 20th was spent in strengthening our position and developing the line of the enemy. The Century. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To unfold gradually, as a flower from a bud; hence, to bring through a succession of states or stages, each of which is preparatory to the next; to form or expand by a process of growth; to cause to change gradually from an embryo, or a lower state, to a higher state or form of being; as, sunshine and rain develop the bud into a flower; to develop the mind. [ 1913 Webster ]

The sound developed itself into a real compound. J. Peile. [ 1913 Webster ]

All insects . . . acquire the jointed legs before the wings are fully developed. Owen. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To advance; to further; to prefect; to make to increase; to promote the growth of. [ 1913 Webster ]

We must develop our own resources to the utmost. Jowett (Thucyd). [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Math.) To change the form of, as of an algebraic expression, by executing certain indicated operations without changing the value. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Photog.) To cause to become visible, as an invisible or latent image upon plate, by submitting it to chemical agents; to bring to view. [ 1913 Webster ]

To develop a curved surface on a plane (Geom.), to produce on the plane an equivalent surface, as if by rolling the curved surface so that all parts shall successively touch the plane.

Syn. -- To uncover; unfold; evolve; promote; project; lay open; disclose; exhibit; unravel; disentangle. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To go through a process of natural evolution or growth, by successive changes from a less perfect to a more perfect or more highly organized state; to advance from a simpler form of existence to one more complex either in structure or function; as, a blossom develops from a bud; the seed develops into a plant; the embryo develops into a well-formed animal; the mind develops year by year. [ 1913 Webster ]

Nor poets enough to understand
That life develops from within. Mrs. Browning. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To become apparent gradually; as, a picture on sensitive paper develops on the application of heat; the plans of the conspirators develop. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Capable of being developed. J. Peile. [ 1913 Webster ]

Developable surface (Math.), a surface described by a moving right line, and such that consecutive positions of the generator intersect each other. Hence, the surface can be developed into a plane. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. being changed over time so as to be e.g. stronger or more complete or more useful; as, the developed qualities of the Hellenic outlook; the state's well-developed industries. Oppositre of undeveloped. [ Narrower terms: formulated; mature ] [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. made more useful and profitable as by building or laying out roads; -- of real estate. new houses are springing up on the developed tract of land near the river
Syn. -- improved. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. One who, or that which, develops. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Photog.) A chemical bath or reagent used in developing photographs. By the action of the developer, the latent image on a photographic plate or film, not perceptible to the eye after exposure in the camera, is developed and becomes visible. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

3. (Dyeing) A reagent used to produce an ingrain color by its action upon some substance on the fiber. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

4. a corporation or individual who finances or organizes a real estate development{ 5 }. [ PJC ]

adj. 1. not industrialized but undergoing industrialization; -- sometimes used as a euphemism for "undeveloped"; -- of nations.
Syn. -- underdeveloped. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. [ pr. p. of develop (WN definition 5) ] becoming or arising; as, the rushing yellow of the developing day. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. the process of treating a photosensitive material with chemicals in order to make a latent image visible.
Syn. -- development. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

n. [ Cf. F. développement. ] [ Written also developement. ] 1. The act of developing or disclosing that which is unknown; a gradual unfolding process by which anything is developed, as a plan or method, or an image upon a photographic plate; gradual advancement or growth through a series of progressive changes; also, the result of developing, or a developed state. [ 1913 Webster ]

A new development of imagination, taste, and poetry. Channing. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Biol.) The series of changes which animal and vegetable organisms undergo in their passage from the embryonic state to maturity, from a lower to a higher state of organization. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Math.) (a) The act or process of changing or expanding an expression into another of equivalent value or meaning. (b) The equivalent expression into which another has been developed. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Mus.) The elaboration of a theme or subject; the unfolding of a musical idea; the evolution of a whole piece or movement from a leading theme or motive. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. A tract of land on which a number of buildings have been constructed; -- especially used for tract on which from two to hundreds of houses have been constructed by a commercial developer{ 4 } for sale to individuals. [ PJC ]

Development theory (Biol.), the doctrine that animals and plants possess the power of passing by slow and successive stages from a lower to a higher state of organization, and that all the higher forms of life now in existence were thus developed by uniform laws from lower forms, and are not the result of special creative acts. See the Note under Darwinian.

Syn. -- Unfolding; disclosure; unraveling; evolution; elaboration; growth. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Pertaining to, or characteristic of, the process of development; as, the developmental power of a germ. Carpenter. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ L. devenustatus, p. p. of devenustare to disfigure; de + venustus lovely, graceful. ] To deprive of beauty or grace. [ Obs. ]

{ } n. See Divergence. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Devested; p. pr. & vb. n. Devesting. ] [ L. devestire to undress; de + vestire to dress: cf. OF. devestir, F. dévêtir. Cf. Divest. ] 1. To divest; to undress. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To take away, as an authority, title, etc., to deprive; to alienate, as an estate. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ This word is now generally written divest, except in the legal sense. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. (Law) To be taken away, lost, or alienated, as a title or an estate. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. devexus, from devehere to carry down. ] Bending down; sloping. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Devexity. [ Obs. ] May (Lucan). [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. devexitas, fr. devexus. See Devex, a. ] A bending downward; a sloping; incurvation downward; declivity. [ R. ] Davies (Wit's Pilgr.) [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n.; fem. of Deva. A goddess. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. an aberrant state or condition.
Syn. -- aberrance, aberrancy, aberration. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. deviate behavior.
Syn. -- deviation. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. 1. Deviating. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. having behavior or characteristics differing from that which is normal or expected, especially in an undesirable or socially disapproved manner; as, deviant behavior.
Syn. -- deviate. [ PJC ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Deviated p. pr. & vb. n. Deviating ] [ L. deviare to deviate; de + viare to go, travel, via way. See Viaduct. ] To go out of the way; to turn aside from a course or a method; to stray or go astray; to err; to digress; to diverge; to vary. [ 1913 Webster ]

Thus Pegasus, a nearer way to take,
May boldly deviate from the common track. Pope.

Syn. -- To swerve; stray; wander; digress; depart; deflect; err. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To cause to deviate. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

To deviate a needle. J. D. Forbes. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. having behavior differing from that which is normal or expected, especially in an undesirable or socially disapproved manner; as, deviate behavior.
Syn. -- deviant. [ PJC ]

n. a person having behavior differing from that which is normal or socially acceptable; -- used especially to characterize persons whose sexual behavior is considered morally unacceptable.
Syn. -- deviant. [ PJC ]

n. [ LL. deviatio: cf. F. déviation. ] 1. The act of deviating; a wandering from the way; variation from the common way, from an established rule, etc.; departure, as from the right course or the path of duty. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The state or result of having deviated; a transgression; an act of sin; an error; an offense. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Com.) The voluntary and unnecessary departure of a ship from, or delay in, the regular and usual course of the specific voyage insured, thus releasing the underwriters from their responsibility. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Statistics, Physics) the difference between an expected value of an observation or measurement and the actual value. [ PJC ]

Deviation of a falling body (Physics), that deviation from a strictly vertical line of descent which occurs in a body falling freely, in consequence of the rotation of the earth. --
Deviation of the compass, the angle which the needle of a ship's compass makes with the magnetic meridian by reason of the magnetism of the iron parts of the ship. --
Deviation of the line of the vertical, the difference between the actual direction of a plumb line and the direction it would have if the earth were a perfect ellipsoid and homogeneous, -- caused by the attraction of a mountain, or irregularities in the earth's density. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L., a forsaker. ] One who, or that which, deviates. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Tending to deviate; devious; as, deviatory motion. [ R. ] Tully. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. devis, devise, will, intention, opinion, invention, fr. F. devis architect's plan and estimates (in OF., division, plan, wish), devise device (in sense 3), in OF. also, division, wish, last will, fr. deviser. See Devise, v. t., and cf. Devise, n. ] 1. That which is devised, or formed by design; a contrivance; an invention; a project; a scheme; often, a scheme to deceive; a stratagem; an artifice. [ 1913 Webster ]

His device in against Babylon, to destroy it. Jer. li. 11. [ 1913 Webster ]

Their recent device of demanding benevolences. Hallam. [ 1913 Webster ]

He disappointeth the devices of the crafty. Job v. 12. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Power of devising; invention; contrivance. [ 1913 Webster ]

I must have instruments of my own device. Landor. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (a) An emblematic design, generally consisting of one or more figures with a motto, used apart from heraldic bearings to denote the historical situation, the ambition, or the desire of the person adopting it. See Cognizance. (b) Improperly, an heraldic bearing. [ 1913 Webster ]

Knights-errant used to distinguish themselves by devices on their shields. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

A banner with this strange device -
Excelsior. Longfellow. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Anything fancifully conceived. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. A spectacle or show. [ Obs. ] Beau. & Fl. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. Opinion; decision. [ Obs. ] Rom. of R.

7. any artifactual object designed to perform an action or process, with or without an operator in attendance. [ PJC ]

Syn. -- Contrivance; invention; design; scheme; project; stratagem; shift. -- Device, Contrivance. Device implies more of inventive power, and contrivance more of skill and dexterity in execution. A device usually has reference to something worked out for exhibition or show; a contrivance usually respects the arrangement or disposition of things with reference to securing some end. Devices were worn by knights-errant on their shields; contrivances are generally used to promote the practical convenience of life. The word device is often used in a bad sense; as, a crafty device; contrivance is almost always used in a good sense; as, a useful contrivance. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Full of devices; inventive. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

A carpet, rich, and of deviceful thread. Chapman. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a deviceful manner. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ AS. deófol, deóful; akin to G. &unr_;eufel, Goth. diabaúlus; all fr. L. diabolus the devil, Gr. &unr_; the devil, the slanderer, fr. &unr_; to slander, calumniate, orig., to throw across; &unr_; across + &unr_; to throw, let fall, fall; cf. Skr. gal to fall. Cf. Diabolic. ] 1. The Evil One; Satan, represented as the tempter and spiritual of mankind. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ Jesus ] being forty days tempted of the devil. Luke iv. 2. [ 1913 Webster ]

That old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world. Rev. xii. 9. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An evil spirit; a demon. [ 1913 Webster ]

A dumb man possessed with a devil. Matt. ix. 32. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A very wicked person; hence, any great evil. “That devil Glendower.” “The devil drunkenness.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? John vi. 70. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. An expletive of surprise, vexation, or emphasis, or, ironically, of negation. [ Low ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The devil a puritan that he is, . . . but a timepleaser. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

The things, we know, are neither rich nor rare,
But wonder how the devil they got there. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Cookery) A dish, as a bone with the meat, broiled and excessively peppered; a grill with Cayenne pepper. [ 1913 Webster ]

Men and women busy in baking, broiling, roasting oysters, and preparing devils on the gridiron. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (Manuf.) A machine for tearing or cutting rags, cotton, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

Blue devils. See under Blue. --
Cartesian devil. See under Cartesian. --
Devil bird (Zool.), one of two or more South African drongo shrikes (Edolius retifer, and Edolius remifer), believed by the natives to be connected with sorcery. --
Devil may care, reckless, defiant of authority; -- used adjectively. Longfellow. --
Devil's apron (Bot.), the large kelp (Laminaria saccharina, and Laminaria longicruris) of the Atlantic ocean, having a blackish, leathery expansion, shaped somewhat like an apron. --
Devil's coachhorse. (Zool.) (a) The black rove beetle (Ocypus olens). [ Eng. ] (b) A large, predacious, hemipterous insect (Prionotus cristatus); the wheel bug. [ U.S. ] --
Devil's darning-needle. (Zool.) See under Darn, v. t. --
Devil's fingers,
Devil's hand (Zool.), the common British starfish (Asterias rubens); -- also applied to a sponge with stout branches. [ Prov. Eng., Irish & Scot. ] --
Devil's riding-horse (Zool.), the American mantis (Mantis Carolina). --
The Devil's tattoo, a drumming with the fingers or feet. “Jack played the Devil's tattoo on the door with his boot heels.” F. Hardman (Blackw. Mag.). --
Devil worship, worship of the power of evil; -- still practiced by barbarians who believe that the good and evil forces of nature are of equal power. --
Printer's devil, the youngest apprentice in a printing office, who runs on errands, does dirty work (as washing the ink rollers and sweeping), etc. “Without fearing the printer's devil or the sheriff's officer.” Macaulay. --
Tasmanian devil (Zool.), a very savage carnivorous marsupial of Tasmania (Dasyurus ursinus syn. Diabolus ursinus). --
To play devil with, to molest extremely; to ruin. [ Low ] [ 1913 Webster ]