diabolic.

1. Displaying exceptionally cruel, malicious, or morally evil intent.

2. Relating to the devil or devils in a religious or supernatural context.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• diabolic plot
• diabolic cruelty

On the page

They uncovered a diabolic plan to turn the refugees against one another.

The captives learned how diabolic their captor’s ingenuity could be.

Usage notes

Primary category: horror. Forms: Comparative more diabolic; superlative most diabolic in the evaluative sense. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.