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Devil's Island

American

noun

one of the Safety Islands, off the coast of French Guiana: former French penal colony.

Devil's Island British

noun

French name: Île du Diable. one of the three Safety Islands, off the coast of French Guiana: formerly a leper colony, then a French penal colony from 1895 until 1938. Area: less than 2 sq km (1 sq mile)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Despite a lack of evidence, Dreyfus was convicted of treason, sentenced to life imprisonment in the infamous Devil's Island penal colony in French Guiana and publicly stripped of his rank.

From Barron's • Nov. 18, 2025

He compared the ICC to the antisemitic conspiracy that sent Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish officer in the French army, to the penal colony on Devil's Island for treason in 1894.

From BBC • Jun. 8, 2025

Three fugitives from Devil’s Island help a French family at the mercy of a ruthless relative.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 11, 2020

The couple had already visited the islands of Dominica and St. Lucia and were heading to Devil’s Island in French Guiana.

From Washington Times • Mar. 21, 2020

Along with a partner, he’d escaped from Devil’s Island, but he’d failed to make it to South America.

From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023