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 ]

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 ]

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 ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Deviled r Devilled; p. pr. & vb. n. Deviling r Devilling. ] 1. To make like a devil; to invest with the character of a devil. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To grill with Cayenne pepper; to season highly in cooking, as with pepper. [ 1913 Webster ]

A deviled leg of turkey. W. Irving.

/mhw>, n.. (Zool.) A small water bird. See Dabchick. [ 1913 Webster ]

a hard-boiled egg, sliced into halves and with the yolk removed and replaced with a paste, usually made from the yolk and mayonnaise, seasoned with salt and/or spices such as paprika. [ PJC ]

n. A she-devil. [ R. ] Sterne. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A little devil. [ R. ] Barham. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) (a) A huge ray (Manta birostris or Cephaloptera vampyrus) of the Gulf of Mexico and Southern Atlantic coasts. Several other related species take the same name. See Cephaloptera. (b) A large cephalopod, especially the very large species of Octopus and Architeuthis. See Octopus. (c) The gray whale of the Pacific coast. See Gray whale. (d) The goosefish or angler (Lophius), and other allied fishes. See Angler. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A young devil. [ Obs. ] Beau. & Fl. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Resembling, characteristic of, or pertaining to, the devil; diabolical; wicked in the extreme. “Devilish wickedness.” Sir P. Sidney. [ 1913 Webster ]

This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. James iii. 15. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Extreme; excessive. [ Colloq. ] Dryden.

Syn. -- Diabolical; infernal; hellish; satanic; wicked; malicious; detestable; destructive.

-- Dev"il*ish*ly, adv. -- Dev"il*ish*ness, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state of the devil or of devils; doctrine of the devil or of devils. Bp. Hall. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To make a devil of. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

He that should deify a saint, should wrong him as much as he that should devilize him. Bp. Hall. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A little devil; a devilet. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. cheerfully irresponsible.
Syn. -- carefree, happy-go-lucky, harum-scarum, slaphappy. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. marked by a carefree unconventionality or disreputableness.
Syn. -- raffish, rakish. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. Deviltry. Bp. Warburton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Devilries 1. Conduct suitable to the devil; extreme wickedness; deviltry. [ 1913 Webster ]

Stark lies and devilry. Sir T. More. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The whole body of evil spirits. Tylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

. (Zool.) A dragon fly. See Darning needle, under Darn, v. t. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The character or person of a devil or the devil. Cowley. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Deviltries Diabolical conduct; malignant mischief; devilry. C. Reade. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Bot.) A kind of tree (Osmanthus Americanus), allied to the European olive. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Mach.) (a) A weight which is dropped into a bore, as of an oil well, to explode a cartridge previously lowered. (b) A device, as a loosely fitted plug, which is driven through a pipe by the pressure of the contents behind the plug to clear away obstructions. (c) A rough sled or dray used for dragging logs, hauling stone, etc. [ Local, U. S. ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. A number of fishhooks rigidly fastened back to be pulled through the water to catch fish. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

fld>(Zool.) (a) Any very large ray, especially any species of the genus Manta or Cephaloptera, some of which become more than twenty feet across and weigh several tons. See also Ox ray, under Ox. (b) Any large cephalopod, as a large Octopus, or a giant squid (Architeuthis). See Devilfish. (c) The angler. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) [ So named from its swift flight and dark color, which give it an uncanny appearance. ] The European swift. [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ 1st pref. un- + devil. ] To free from possession by a devil or evil spirit; to exorcise. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

They boy having gotten a habit of counterfeiting . . . would not be undeviled by all their exorcisms. Fuller. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ F., fr. Vau-de-vire, a village in Normandy, where Olivier Basselin, at the end of the 14th century, composed such songs. ] [ Written also vaudevil. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. A kind of song of a lively character, frequently embodying a satire on some person or event, sung to a familiar air in couplets with a refrain; a street song; a topical song. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A theatrical piece, usually a comedy, the dialogue of which is intermingled with light or satirical songs, set to familiar airs. [ 1913 Webster ]

The early vaudeville, which is the forerunner of the opera bouffe, was light, graceful, and piquant. Johnson's Cyc. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. a variety show when performed live in a theater (see above); as, to play in vaudeville; a vaudeville actor. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

(Zool.) The rapacious larva of a large water beetle (Hydrophilus piceus), and of other similar species. See Illust. of Water beetle. [ 1913 Webster ]