dictionary definitions for "bedevil"


From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Bedevil \Be*dev"il\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bedevilled (?); p.
     pr. & vb. n. Bedeviling or Bedevilling.]
     1. To throw into utter disorder and confusion, as if by the
        agency of evil spirits; to bring under diabolical
        influence; to torment.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Bedeviled and used worse than St. Bartholomew.
                                                    --Sterne.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. To spoil; to corrupt. --Wright.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:

  bedevil
      v 1: treat cruelly; "The children tormented the stuttering
           teacher" [syn: torment, rag, bedevil, crucify,
           dun, frustrate]
      2: be confusing or perplexing to; cause to be unable to think
         clearly; "These questions confuse even the experts"; "This
         question completely threw me"; "This question befuddled even
         the teacher" [syn: confuse, throw, fox, befuddle,
         fuddle, bedevil, confound, discombobulate]


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