fiendish

«fiendish» in Mova's school dictionary: very cruel or wicked, like a fiend (a devil or evil spirit) — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

adjective (fiendish; more fiendish, most fiendish)

meaning for a pupil

1) Fiendish means very cruel or wicked, like a fiend (a devil or evil spirit). tree →

2) (informal) Fiendish means extremely clever, complicated or difficult: «a fiendish puzzle». tree →

sense in the lessons

In stories, a villain makes a fiendish plan. In puzzles and maths, a fiendish sudoku or riddle is very hard, so it is often used for olympiad or challenge questions. Phrases: «a fiendish plan», «fiendishly difficult», «fiendish puzzle».

examples

• The villain had a fiendish plan to steal the crown jewels. tree →
• This sudoku is fiendish! tree →
• The maths challenge had a fiendish final question. tree →
• The witch gave a fiendish laugh. tree →
• The maze was fiendishly difficult. tree →
• The detective uncovered a fiendish trick. tree →
• After a time he became an adept in the black art, and contracted an intimate acquaintance with the fiendish races. tree →

note

From «fiend» (a devil, or a person who loves something: «a football fiend»). Adverb: fiendishly. Say «FEEN-dish».

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «fiendish» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.