1
as in demonic
of, relating to, or worthy of an evil spirit
a fiendish delight in playing cruel tricks
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in brutal
having or showing the desire to inflict severe pain and suffering on others
shook with fiendish laughter as he watched his victims writhe in agony
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fiendish
But a new shingle (and URL) outside the Pentagon does not solve the fiendish challenges of running the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard and Space Force.
—
Andreas Kluth, Twin Cities, 11 Sep. 2025
The entirety of the conundrum that the Epstein files have presented to the Trump administration was created because Trump and his subordinates continuously dangled the carrot of releasing the Epstein files and of holding elites accountable for their fiendish behavior.
—Rafael Perez, Oc Register, 10 Aug. 2025
But that’s just the cherry on top of a perfectly cartoonish opening to the best film this fiendish horror franchise from the 2000s has ever known.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 13 May 2025
What to know about Blue Origin after celebrity spaceflight NASA's Perseverance rover captures 'fiendish' dueling dust devils on Mars: See video
What causes the Lyrid meteors?
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 19 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fiendish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fiendish
Adjective
-
Two shows – Beetlejuice and Waiting For Godot – closed last week, with the demonic musical posting a big $311,282 gain over the previous week, taking in $1,373,691 and selling 96% of its seats.—
-
Twin Peaks is a world rife with magic and mystery, filled with demonic possessions, time travel, parallel dimensions, and ritual sacrifice.—
Adjective
-
Between wading or boating into choppy surf, baking in the hot sun, and getting doused in salty spray, the elements are brutal on the human body and the gear meant to withstand them.—
-
Phạm Lockwood also spoke with Huan Nguyen, the sole survivor of a massacre of a South Vietnamese family in Saigon, a brutal attack allegedly orchestrated by Capt.—
Adjective
-
Smallwood, less innately sinister as a performer, turns the part into a slow burn.—
-
If Park’s film begins as another lament for our layoff-laden modern world, the South Korean director soon introduces a sinister twist.—
Adjective
-
The forest had taught him that city dwellers could often be regulated by cruel and rather unpredictable codes.—
-
That Maduro is a cruel dictator is clear; that Trump intends more than just his arrest (such as taking their oil) is equally clear.—
Adjective
-
That, to me, was the simplest and the most diabolical part of the story.—
-
In this diabolical satirical thriller, a millennial woman resorts to extreme measures to secure the million-dollar house of her dreams.—
Adjective
-
Officials charged Damon Leanord of Pleasanton, Kansas, with interference with law enforcement, having a vicious dog at large and criminal desecration of a body in Linn County and abandonment of a corpse charges in Bates County, Missouri, after finding the child’s body at the bottom of a creek bed.—
-
He was shocked in 2013 when he was struck by vicious bouts of vomiting.—
Adjective
-
The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have strong antivirus software installed on all your devices.—
-
And at the heart of the series was the parasitic dynamic between Pine and his delightfully malicious foe, an arms dealer named Richard Onslow Roper (Hugh Laurie).—
Adjective
-
This league is a savage league.—
-
The fifth-place finisher also reveals the inspiration for her savage jury question to Savannah.—
Cite this Entry
“Fiendish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fiendish. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share