fiend

[ feend ]

noun

1. Satan; the devil.
2. any evil spirit; demon.
3. a diabolically cruel or wicked person.

   Synonyms: devil, beast, brute, savage, monster

4. a person or thing that causes mischief or annoyance:

   Those children are little fiends.

5. Informal. a person who is extremely addicted to some pernicious habit:

   an opium fiend.

6. Informal. a person who is excessively interested in some game, sport, etc.; fan; buff:

   a bridge fiend.

7. a person who is highly skilled or gifted in something:

   a fiend at languages.

verb (used without object)

1. Also feen []. Slang. to desire greatly:

   just another junkie fiending after his next hit;

   As soon as I finish a cigarette I'm fiending to light another.

fiend

¹

/ fiːnd /

noun

1. an evil spirit; demon; devil
2. a person who is extremely wicked, esp in being very cruel or brutal
3. informal.
   1. a person who is intensely interested in or fond of something

      a fresh-air fiend

      he is a fiend for cards

   2. an addict

      a drug fiend

4. informal a mischievous or spiteful person, esp a child

Fiend

²

/ fiːnd /

noun

1. the Fiend
   the devil; Satan

Derived Forms

• ˈfiendˌlike, adjective

Other Words From

• fiendlike adjective
• under·fiend noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of fiend¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English feend, Old English fēond; cognate with German Feind, Old Norse fjandr, Gothic fijands “foe,” originally present participle of fijan “to hate”

Word History and Origins

Origin of fiend¹

Old English fēond ; related to Old Norse fjāndi enemy, Gothic fijands , Old High German fīant

Example Sentences

But then suddenly, Graeme's efforts pay off as we sight a stonechat, the feathered fiend who had evaded us earlier, sitting happily atop a fence post.

From BBC

The good news for summer fiends: The region is expected to warm up next week on Thursday and Friday.

From Seattle Times

The late Times movie critic Sheila Benson called the final film in the original trilogy “frankly irresistible” and heaped tons of praise on the furry fiends from the moon of Endor.

From Los Angeles Times

“Come down and do battle—bird, reptile, fiend, or whatever kind of villain you are!”

From Literature

It telegraphs that Abigail is no barbaric horror fiend but instead a sophisticated aesthete, which makes her both scarier and funnier.

From New York Times

Related Words

• aficionado
• fanatic
• freak
• maniac