devilishly

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈdɛvəlɪʃli/ UK /ˈdɛvəlɪʃli/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adv
in a mischievous or fiendish way; or extremely

The puzzle was devilishly hard to solve.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adv · in a mischievous or... fiendishly diabolically wickedly mischievously extremely infernally

Opposites

angelicallyvirtuously

Word family

Related forms devilish devil diabolical

Etymology

From devilish + -ly. Devil is from Old English deofol, from Latin diabolus, from Ancient Greek diabolos ('slanderer'), from diaballein ('to slander, throw across').

deofol Old English diabolos Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# devilishly

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adv
**IPA (US):** /ˈdɛvəlɪʃli/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈdɛvəlɪʃli/

## Meanings
1. in a mischievous or fiendish way; or extremely

## Examples
- The puzzle was devilishly hard to solve.

## Synonyms
- fiendishly
- diabolically
- wickedly
- mischievously
- extremely
- infernally

## Antonyms
- angelically
- virtuously

## Related Forms
- devilish
- devil
- diabolical

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: deofol
- Root: diabolos

## Etymology
From devilish + -ly. Devil is from Old English deofol, from Latin diabolus, from Ancient Greek diabolos ('slanderer'), from diaballein ('to slander, throw across').

## AI Etymology
Devilishly is from devilish + -ly. Devil is from Old English deofol, from Latin diabolus, from Ancient Greek diabolos ('slanderer'), from diaballein ('to slander, throw across'). The ancestry passes through Old English deofol and Ancient Greek diabolos. The suffix -ly forms an adverb or adjective from the base, so the English form is shaped by recognizable word formation as well as by its inherited or borrowed base. In present use as an adverb, it means "in a mischievous or fiendish way; or extremely", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Related words include devilish, devil, and diabolical.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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