diabolical

adjective
UK: /ˌdaɪ.əˈbɒl.ɪ.kəl/
US: /ˌdaɪ.əˈbɑː.lɪ.kəl/

  1. Extremely evil or wicked; showing devilish characteristics.

    1. His diabolical plan was to steal all the toys.
    2. The villain's diabolical laughter echoed through the dark castle during the movie.

  2. Shockingly terrible; of very poor quality.

    1. The food was diabolical, I couldn't eat it.
    2. The traffic was diabolical this morning, adding an hour to my commute to work.

  3. Remarkably clever or ingenious, but in an unpleasant or mischievous way.

    1. She had a diabolical idea to prank her brother.
    2. His diabolical scheme involved replacing the sugar with salt during the bake-off.

Synonyms

evil wicked fiendish devilish atrocious dreadful terrible horrendous
diabolical adverb

  1. In a diabolical manner; wickedly or devilishly.

    1. He laughed diabolically at their misfortune.
    2. The machine broke diabolically at the wrong time during the important show.

Frequently Asked Questions

The word "diabolical" in English means: Extremely evil or wicked; showing devilish characteristics., Shockingly terrible; of very poor quality., Remarkably clever or ingenious, but in an unpleasant or mischievous way..

The phonetic transcription of "diabolical" is /ˌdaɪ.əˈbɒl.ɪ.kəl/ in British English and /ˌdaɪ.əˈbɑː.lɪ.kəl/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Synonyms for "diabolical": evil, wicked, fiendish, devilish, atrocious, dreadful, terrible, horrendous.

Example usage of "diabolical": "His diabolical plan was to steal all the toys.". More examples on the page.