diabolical

C2+ Topic:Describing People

US /ˌdaɪəˈbɑlɪkəl/ UK /ˌdaɪəˈbɒlɪkəl/ See IPA manual

adj

Meanings

1

adj
extremely wicked or cruel; devilish

The villain hatched a diabolical scheme to seize the throne.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · extremely wicked or cruel;... fiendish devilishsatanicdemonic wicked infernal monstrous

Opposites

angelic saintly divine virtuous

Word family

Forms diabolically

Derived forms diabolicallydiabolicalness

Related forms diabolic devil diabolism

Etymology

From Late Latin diabolicus + -al, from Ancient Greek diabolikos, from diabolos ('slanderer, devil'), from diaballein ('to slander'), from dia- ('across') + ballein ('to throw').

diabolikos Ancient Greek diaballein Ancient Greek *gʷelh₁- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing People Word Formation & Derivatives

# diabolical

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** ˌdaɪəˈbɑlɪkəl
**IPA (UK):** ˌdaɪəˈbɒlɪkəl

## Meanings
1. extremely wicked or cruel; devilish

## Examples
- The villain hatched a diabolical scheme to seize the throne.

## Synonyms
- fiendish
- devilish
- satanic
- demonic
- wicked
- infernal
- monstrous

## Antonyms
- angelic
- saintly
- divine
- virtuous

## Derived Forms
- diabolically
- diabolicalness

## Related Forms
- diabolic
- devil
- diabolism

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: diabolikos
- Root: diaballein
- Root: *gʷelh₁-

## Etymology
From Late Latin diabolicus + -al, from Ancient Greek diabolikos, from diabolos ('slanderer, devil'), from diaballein ('to slander'), from dia- ('across') + ballein ('to throw').

## AI Etymology
Diabolical comes from Late Latin diabolicus + -al, from Ancient Greek diabolikos, from diabolos ('slanderer, devil'), from diaballein ('to slander'), from dia- ('across') + ballein ('to throw'). The historical trail runs through Ancient Greek diabolikos, Ancient Greek diaballein and Proto-Indo-European *gʷelh₁-. Morphologically, the surface form is analyzable into prefixes, suffixes, compounds, or participial endings that carry part of the history. In modern use it means extremely wicked or cruel; devilish. Derived formations include diabolically, diabolicalness; related forms include diabolic, devil, diabolism.

## Topics
- Describing People
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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