Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Dealings with or worship of the devil or demons.
  • noun Devilish conduct or character.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The actions or influence of the devil; conduct worthy of the devil.
  • noun Possession by the devil.
  • noun In occultism, black magic; sorcery; invocation of evil spirits.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Character, action, or principles appropriate to the devil.
  • noun Possession by the devil.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Worship of the devil; Satanism
  • noun Character, action, or principles appropriate to the devil.
  • noun Possession by the devil.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a belief in and reverence for devils (especially Satan)

Etymologies

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Examples

  • This exceedingly grave and important accusation, together with its side issues, has perhaps all the more claim on our consideration because, apart from actual diabolism, which is in itself so paralysing as almost to arrest discussion, it conflicts with all that we know or believe concerning the Masonic constitution.

    Devil-Worship in France or The Question of Lucifer Arthur Edward Waite 1899

  • He sees Aldous's early "diabolism" as "a very thin and papery mask"; he refers to wishful thinking, to unsureness of judgment, to gullibility, to matters of self-regard.

    No Utilitarian Holmes, Charles M. 1971

  • Those who traffic in human flesh lose their respect for pious, consecrated humanity and will resort to any kind of diabolism to cover up their crimes.

    Sermons, Addresses and Reminiscences and Important Correspondence, With a Picture Gallery of Eminent Ministers and Scholars. 1901

  • Judging from her chuckles and waggings of the head when she made this remark, it might be imagined that Aunt Rebecca was rather proud of the fact that her husband thought her capable of exhibiting a different kind of diabolism every day in the week.

    Amos Kilbright; His Adscititious Experiences Frank Richard Stockton 1868

  • My time here is limited, but I have time to seek him out, and if I find him I shall drag him out and feed him to his own machines and put a stop to this diabolism for all time!

    "He Who Shrank" by Henry Hasse, part 7 Johnny Pez 2010

  • More and more, the implicitly Christian moral dualism of vampires as "demons" from "Hell" is stripped away, the notion of Satanic diabolism replaced with a sort of neo-pagan bestiary of gods and monsters who might individually inhabit any point on a spectrum between ethical and unethical.

    Notes on Strange Fiction: Seams Hal Duncan 2008

  • There in the center of the single spacious room was The Machine of all Machines; the Cause of it All; the Central Force, the Ruler, the Controlling Power of all the diabolism running riot over the face of the planet.

    "He Who Shrank" by Henry Hasse, part 8 Johnny Pez 2010

  • More and more, the implicitly Christian moral dualism of vampires as "demons" from "Hell" is stripped away, the notion of Satanic diabolism replaced with a sort of neo-pagan bestiary of gods and monsters who might individually inhabit any point on a spectrum between ethical and unethical.

    Archive 2008-08-01 Hal Duncan 2008

  • There in the center of the single spacious room was The Machine of all Machines; the Cause of it All; the Central Force, the Ruler, the Controlling Power of all the diabolism running riot over the face of the planet.

    Archive 2010-06-01 Johnny Pez 2010

  • My time here is limited, but I have time to seek him out, and if I find him I shall drag him out and feed him to his own machines and put a stop to this diabolism for all time!

    Archive 2010-06-01 Johnny Pez 2010

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