adj
diabolical
deye-uh-BO-lih-kuh
adj
1
Extremely cruel or wicked; evil.
"The villain hatched a diabolical plan to destroy the city."
"It was a diabolical act of betrayal that no one saw coming."
2
(informal) Very bad or dreadful.
"The weather on our camping trip was absolutely diabolical."
How to Use Diabolical
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishDevilishly evil, or — used more loosely — extremely bad.
When to use it
In British English, "diabolical" is often used casually to mean "terrible," well beyond anything actually evil.
Common pairings
diabolical plan
diabolical weather
diabolical scheme
Word Forms
more diabolical comparative, most diabolical superlative
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The villain hatched a _____ plan to destroy the city.
Etymology
From diabolic + -al, ultimately from Greek diabolos ("slanderer, devil").