Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

fiend

American  
[feend] / find /

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. Slang. Also feen 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 British  
/ 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

"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
Fiend 2 British  
/ fiːnd /

noun

  1. the devil; Satan

"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

Other Word Forms

  • fiendlike adjective
  • underfiend noun

Etymology

Origin of fiend

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”

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.

“The fiend has no head,” Knight commented in his review.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 24, 2026

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 • Apr. 22, 2024

Ryker was a hockey fiend at about a year old, watching 6 a.m.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 9, 2024

In the play, King Henry laments the cardinal - his great uncle's - death, saying: 'O! beat away the busy, meddling fiend that lays siege unto this wretch's soul'.

From BBC • Oct. 31, 2023

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

From "Abel's Island" by William Steig

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.