Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Reckless mischief.
- n. Extreme cruelty; wickedness.
- n. Evil magic; witchcraft.
- n. An act of mischief, cruelty, or witchcraft.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Diabolical action; malicious mischief; devilry.
Wiktionary
- n. devilry.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. Diabolical conduct; malignant mischief; devilry.
WordNet 3.0
- n. wicked and cruel behavior
- n. reckless or malicious behavior that causes discomfort or annoyance in others
Etymologies
- Variant spelling of devilry, influenced by gallantry. (Wiktionary)
- Alteration (influenced by such words as gallantry) of devilry. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Further south, in the area north of the Aisne river, west of Laon, probably the worst example of this German deviltry is to be found.”
“If this kind of deviltry works, we can expect local Democrat district attorneys to routinely indict any Republican who is successfully turning out the electorate for the Republican Party.”
Think Progress » VIDEO: Tom DeLay Exercises His Right To Incriminate Himself
“He's in here, trying to make up his mind what kind of deviltry to get into next.”
“I was a boy at West Point I was court-martialed for tolerating some youthful "deviltry" of my classmates, in which I took no part myself, and was sentenced to be dismissed.”
“But one of the candidates, perhaps by way of excuse for his failure, wrote to his parents some account of the "deviltry" in which my classmates had indulged that day.”
“It was dark enough for any kind of deviltry in that four-hundred foot gash in the earth; the sinking moon lightened only a strip along the east wall, near the top; lower down, smoke mingling with the natural gloom cast an impenetrable veil from bank to bank; not a breath of air stirred the tomblike stillness.”
“I would really like to know what especial kind of deviltry you young fry are up to this time," said Uncle”
“I would really like to know what especial kind of deviltry you young fry are up to this time," said Uncle Roger one evening, as he passed through the orchard with his gun on his shoulder, bound for the swamp.”
“We can trust this to be the plain truth in regard to the Liverpool consulate, and if twenty-five thousand a year was ever obtained from it, there must have been some kind of deviltry in the business.”
“No tellin 'how long they may take or what kind of deviltry that camp booze may work 'em up to.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘deviltry’.
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Steampunk
Words used quite often in steampunk
ansible, airship, chymical, valve, clockwork, dirigible, thaumaturgy, copper, bronze, difference engine, gear, rivets and 521 more...
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Old Nick and his personal effects
Words & phrases with "devil" in the name - there's a deuce of a lot
devil's matchstick, devil's dung, devil's club, hickory horned devil, deviled egg, blue devils, printer's devil, devil-fish, devil-cart, devil crab, devil dance, dare-devil and 46 more...
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capitalcreative's Words
deviltry, visceral, cassanova, assuage, genesis, hot minute, osmosis, wistful, sublime, loathe, farfetched, newfangled and 283 more...
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Quaintnesses
For those who wish no words were ever forgotten
opprobrium, tedium, encomium, odium, ire, enmity, beguile, wile, brazen, popinjay, squit, hoity-toity and 1161 more...
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slumry's Words
cattywampus, ingratiate, lackadaisical, exactitude, exfoliate, fulminate, circumnavigation, circuitous, debride, sidle, sequester, chicory and 1002 more...
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Illuminated Manuscript
words for the bespoke
midheaven, moth-fly, yea-forsooth, ontil, coxcomb, vulnerary, landhelgisgæslan, beasthood, deviltry, triolet, diablerie, titil and 108 more...
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huck finnian
ain't, stretchers, without, sivilize, hogshead, victuals, bulrushers, tolerable, goggles, middling, reckoned, who-whooing and 287 more...
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The Innocents Abroad
Words rounded up while reading The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain.
rakish, excursionist, bowelless, pilgrimizing, melodeon, woebegone, abaft, sextant, veriest, behindhand, stanchion, avast and 188 more...
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Just 'cause I like 'em, D
dodecahedron, din, diglyceride, dysphotopsia, decoction, deboss, diatonic, dithyramb, divagate, discalced, dishdasha, daft and 281 more...
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snickclunk's Words
bespoke, freshet, coquette, lath, victrola, feckless, viridian, lariat, sargasso, sobriquet, grift, sophistry and 134 more...
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deegee's Words
pay-per-view, vitriol, delectable, snarky, unflinching, forsake, pervasive, inconsequential, unnerving, allure, endearing, unalloyed and 414 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
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let the wild rumpus start!
mischief of one kind...and another
tom foolery, caper, frolic, lark, rumpus, mischief, shenanigan, escapade, gambol, monkeyshine, revel, skylarking and 28 more...
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Devilish
devil, demon, diabolical, deviltry, hell, devilment, devilry, hellish, infernal, hellborn, devil dance, demonic and 20 more...
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herotuesday's Words
butyraceous, thrasonical, turgid, ululate, irenic, punctilio, discombobulate, ecdysiast, formicate, favonian, agnate, erubescence and 614 more...
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Words That Are Up To No Good
The troublemakers of the bunch.
Tweets
Looking for tweets for deviltry.

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