Adjacent Words

Demon definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DEMON, n. A spirit, or immaterial being, holding a middle place between men and the celestial deities of the Pagans. The ancients believed that there were good and evil demons, which had influence over the minds of men, and that these beings carried on an intercourse between men and gods, conveying the addresses of men to the gods, and divine benefits to men. Hence demons became the objects of worship. It was supposed also that human spirits, after their departure from the body, became demons, and that the souls of virtuous men, if highly purified, were exalted from demons into gods. The demons of the New Testament were supposed to be spiritual beings which vexed and tormented men. And in general , the word, in modern use, signifies an evil spirit or genius, which influences the conduct or directs the fortunes of mankind.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: an evil supernatural being [syn: devil, fiend, demon, daemon, daimon]
2: a cruel wicked and inhuman person [syn: monster, fiend, devil, demon, ogre]
3: someone extremely diligent or skillful; "he worked like a demon to finish the job on time"; "she's a demon at math"

Merriam Webster's

or daemon noun Etymology: Middle English demon, from Late Latin & Latin; Late Latin daemon evil spirit, from Latin, divinity, spirit, from Greek daim?n, probably from daiesthai to distribute — more at tide Date: 13th century 1. a. an evil spirit b. a source or agent of evil, harm, distress, or ruin 2. (usually daemon) an attendant power or spirit ; genius 3. (usually daemon) a supernatural being of Greek mythology intermediate between gods and men 4. one that has exceptional enthusiasm, drive, or effectiveness <a demon for work> • demonian adjective • demonization noun • demonize transitive verb

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a an evil spirit or devil, esp. one thought to possess a person. b the personification of evil passion. 2 a malignant supernatural being; the Devil. 3 (often attrib.) a forceful, fierce, or skilful performer (a demon on the tennis court; a demon player). 4 a cruel or destructive person. 5 (also daemon) a an inner or attendant spirit; a genius (the demon of creativity). b a supernatural being in ancient Greece. Phrases and idioms: demon bowler Cricket a very fast bowler. a demon for work colloq. a person who works strenuously. Etymology: ME f. med.L demon f. L daemon f. Gk daimon deity

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Demon De"mon, n. [F. d['e]mon, L. daemon a spirit, an evil spirit, fr. Gr. ? a divinity; of uncertain origin.] 1. (Gr. Antiq.) A spirit, or immaterial being, holding a middle place between men and deities in pagan mythology. The demon kind is of an intermediate nature between the divine and the human. --Sydenham. 2. One's genius; a tutelary spirit or internal voice; as, the demon of Socrates. [Often written d[ae]mon.] 3. An evil spirit; a devil. That same demon that hath gulled thee thus. --Shak.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(demons) 1. A demon is an evil spirit. ...a woman possessed by demons. N-COUNT 2. If you approve of someone because they are very skilled at what they do or because they do it energetically, you can say that they do it like a demon. He played like a demon... N-COUNT [approval]

Easton's Bible Dictionary

See DAEMON.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Devil, fiend, evil spirit, goblin. 2. Spirit, genius, guardian spirit, tutelary deity.

Moby Thesaurus

Baba Yaga, Lilith, Mafioso, Satan, Young Turk, addict, afreet, ape-man, atua, barghest, beast, beldam, berserk, berserker, bomber, brute, bug, cacodemon, collector, daemon, daeva, damned spirits, demonkind, demons, denizens of hell, devil, devil incarnate, dragon, dybbuk, eager beaver, energumen, enthusiast, evil genius, evil spirit, evil spirits, faddist, fanatic, fiend, fiend from hell, fire-eater, firebrand, freak, fury, genie, genius, ghoul, goon, gorilla, great one for, gunsel, gyre, hardnose, harpy, hell-raiser, hellcat, hellhound, hellion, hellish host, hellkite, hobbyist, holy terror, hood, hoodlum, host of hell, hothead, hotspur, hound, incendiary, incubus, infatuate, inhabitants of Pandemonium, intelligence, jinni, jinniyeh, killer, lamia, lost souls, mad dog, madcap, monster, mugger, nut, ogre, ogress, powers of darkness, pursuer, rakshasa, rapist, revolutionary, rhapsodist, satan, savage, she-wolf, shedu, souls in hell, specter, spirit, spitfire, succubus, sucker for, supernatural being, termagant, terror, terrorist, the damned, the lost, the undead, tiger, tigress, tough, tough guy, ugly customer, vampire, violent, virago, visionary, vixen, werewolf, wild beast, witch, wolf, yogini, zealot

Moby Thesaurus

His Satanic Majesty, Lucifer, Satan, Satanas, the Adversary, the Arch-fiend, the Common Enemy, the Demon, the Devil, the Devil Incarnate, the Evil One, the Evil Spirit, the Fiend, the Foul Fiend, the Old Enemy, the Old Serpent, the Tempter, the Wicked One, the archenemy, the serpent