 |
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Diabolic \Di'a*bol"ic\, Diabolical \Di'a*bol"ic*al\, adjective [L. diabolicus, Gr. ? devilish, slanderous: cf. F. diabolique. See {Devil}.]
1. Pertaining to the devil; resembling, or appropriate, or appropriate to, the devil; befitting hell or satan; devilish; infernal; impious; as, a diabolic or diabolical temper or act; the diabolical expression on his face; fires lit up a diabolic scene. ''Diabolic power.'' --Milton. ''The diabolical institution.'' --Motley.
Syn: devilish, mephistophelian, mephistophelean.
2. showing a wicked cunning or ingenuity; as, the cold calculation and diabolic art of some statesmen.
Syn: devilish, mephistophelian, mephistophelean. [WordNet 1.5]
3. extremely evil or cruel; atrocious; outrageously wicked; as, diabolical sorcerers under the influence of devils; diabolical torturers taking pleasure in their craft.
Syn: demonic, fiendish, hellish, infernal, nefarious, satanic. [1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5] -- {Di'a*bol"ic*al*ly}, adverb -- {Di'a*bol"ic*al*ness}, noun
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
diabolic
adjective
1: 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" [syn: {devilish}, {diabolical}, {mephistophelian}, {mephistophelean}]
2: 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" [syn: {demonic}, {diabolical}, {fiendish}, {hellish}, {infernal}, {satanic}, {unholy}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
93 Moby Thesaurus words for "diabolic": Draconian, Mephistophelian, Tartarean, abominable, accursed, animal, anthropophagous, appalling, atrocious, awful, bad, barbaric, barbarous, base, beastly, bestial, bloodthirsty, bloody, bloody-minded, brutal, brutalized, brute, brutish, cannibalistic, corrupt, cruel, cruel-hearted, cursed, damnable, demoniac, demoniacal, demonic, demonish, demonlike, depraved, devil-like, devilish, diabolical, dreadful, evil, execrable, fell, feral, ferocious, fiendish, fiendlike, fierce, flagitious, foul, ghoulish, heinous, hellborn, hellish, hideous, horrible, horrid, ill, impious, infernal, inhuman, inhumane, iniquitous, maleficent, malevolent, malicious, malign, monstrous, murderous, odious, ogreish, ruthless, sadistic, sanguinary, sanguineous, satanic, savage, serpentine, sharkish, sinful, sinister, slavering, subhuman, terrible, truculent, unchristian, uncivilized, ungodly, unhallowed, unhuman, vicious, vile, wicked, wolfish
 |
Definitions retrieved from local copies of the freely distributed DICT client/server software and databases. Click here for database copyright information. - KM |