Search the Dictionary

The spirit of the sea; sea devil; -- a term used by sailors. This same Davy Jones, according to the mythology of sailors, is the fiend that presides over all the evil spirits of the deep, and is seen in various shapes warning the devoted wretch of death and woe. Smollett. Davy Jones's Locker, the ocean, or bottom of th…

what is true; to impose upon; to mislead; to cheat; to disappoint; to delude; to insnare. Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. 2 Tim. iii. 13. Nimble jugglers that deceive the eye. Shak. What can 'scape the eye Of God all-seeing, or deceive his heart Milton.…

To harm or destroy the good fame or reputation of; to disgrace; especially, to speak evil of maliciously; to dishonor by slanderous reports; to calumniate; to asperse.

A failing or failure; omission of that which ought to be done; neglect to do whaas, this evil has happened through the governor's default.

Devil; -- spelt also deel. [Scot.] Deil's buckie. See under Buckie.

to pleasure; luxurious; voluptuous; alluring. [R.] Dives, for his delicate life, to the devil went. Piers Plowman. Haarlem is a very delicate town. Evelyn.

y; to release; to liberate, as from control; to give up; to free; to save; to rescue from evil actual or feared; -- often with from or out of; as, to deliver one from captivity, or from fear of death. He that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. Ezek. xxxiii. 5. Promise was that I Should Israel from Philistian yoke d…

, A mysterious, terrible, and evil divinity, regarded by some as the author of creation, by others as a great magician who was supposed to command the spirits of the lower world. See Gorgon. Orcus and Ades, and the dreaded name Of Demogorgon. Milton.

An evil spirit; a devil. That same demon that hath gulled thee thus. Shak.

A human being possessed by a demon or evil spirit; one whose faculties are directly controlled by a demon. The demoniac in the gospel was sometimes cast into the fire. Bates.

Pertaining to, or characteristic of, a demon or evil spirit; devilish; as, a demoniac being; demoniacal practices. Sarcastic, demoniacal laughter. Thackeray.

A form of madness in which the patient conceives himself possessed of devils.

To make known in a solemn or official manner; to declare; to proclaim (especially an evil). [Obs.] Denouncing wrath to come. Milton. I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish. Deut. xxx. 18.

That by which anything is denounced; threat of evil; public menace or accusation; arraignment. Uttering bold denunciations of ecclesiastical error. Motley.

One who denounces, publishes, or proclaims, especially intended or coming evil; one who threatens or accuses.

mented; lamentable; causing grief; hence, sad; calamitous; grievous; wretched; as, life's evils are deplorable. Individual sufferers are in a much more deplorable conditious than any others. Burke.

To speak ill of; to depreciate; to malign; to revile. [Obs.] And thou knowest, conscience, I came not to chide Nor deprave thy person with a proud heart. Piers Plowman.

To pray against, as an evil; to seek to avert by player; to desire the removal of; to seek deliverance from; to express deep regret for; to disapprove of strongly. His purpose was deprecated by all round him, and he was with difficulty induced to adandon it. Sir W. Scott.

The act of deprecating; a praying against evil; prayer that an evil may be removed or prevented; strong expression of disapprobation. Humble deprecation. Milton.

Serving to deprecate; tending to remove or avert evil by prayer; apologetic. Humble and deprecatory letters. Bacon.