bedevilledbedeviledadj.
1. Possessed with, or as with, a devil.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > evil spirit or demon > [adjective] > possessing > possessed by
demoniacc1405
demoniaclec1500
devilleda1557
bedevilled1574
possessed1577
devilished1583
through-devilled1586
demoniacal1588
inspiritate1600
demonical1629
spirited1667
energumenical1684
demonized1778
obsessed1845
1574 E. Hellowes tr. A. de Guevara Familiar Epist. 503 He commeth from abroad so furious..and so be deuiled, that none maye abide him.
1668 R. L'Estrange tr. F. G. de Quevedo y Villegas Visions (1708) 2 You are to say, this is a Devil Catchpol'd, and not a Catchpole bedevil'd.
1792 ‘P. Pindar’ Lousiad: Canto IV (new ed.) 2 No sheep, like sheep be-devill'd, ran about.
1879 R. L. Stevenson Trav. with Donkey 180 Those who took to the hills..had all gloomy and bedevilled thoughts.
2. Driven frantic, as if by satanic agency; worried, ‘bothered’.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > state of being harassed > [adjective]
slatc1300
bested1303
forswonga1400
vexed1440
plagued1563
molested1580
bustled1602
grieved1627
travailed1644
over-troubled1646
harassed1693
baited1720
badgered1794
gêné1806
bedevilled1827
besieged1866
1827 R. Southey Select. from Lett. (1856) IV. 92 This be-duped and bedevil'd nation.
1852 N. Hawthorne Blithedale Romance xvi. 171 Bedevilled with one grief or another.
3. Mischievously or bewilderingly transformed, utterly confused, or muddled.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > disorder > confusion or disorder > [adjective]
confusec1384
yblent1426
intermellé1487
farraginary1538
puddled1559
confused1576
promiscuous1579
pell-mell1584
ravelleda1586
mingle-mangle1589
rumblingc1598
skimble-skamble1598
huddle1601
plundered1601
promiscual1602
jumbled1611
promiscous1656
bedevilled1755
helter-skelter1785
muddly1829
hugger-mugger1840
wildered1853
pied1870
deurmekaar1871
mixed-up1888
screwed-up1942
snafu1942
scrambled1951
untogether1969
1755 T. Smollett tr. M. de Cervantes Don Quixote I. i. vi. 28 The unintelligible and bedevilled discourses of his author.
1809 W. Windham Let. in Speeches Parl. (1812) I. 114 The whole is so bedevilled, that there is no restoring things to their original state.
4. Cookery. Grilled or broiled, with the addition of hot spice; = devilled adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation for table or cooking > seasoning > [adjective] > highly spiced
spicedc1325
pikea1475
well-spiceda1500
spiceful1612
spicy1807
bedevilled1814
1814 R. Southey in Q. Rev. 12 223 The gizzard was..sent from the table to be broiled and seasoned, and..returned thus bedevilled.
1862 Sat. Rev. 13 Sept. 309 Whitebait simple and whitebait bedevilled.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1887; most recently modified version published online June 2019).
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adj.1574