bedevil

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be·dev·il

(bĭ-dĕv′əl)

tr.v. be·dev·iled, be·dev·il·ing, be·dev·ils or be·dev·illed or be·dev·il·ling

1. To torment mercilessly; plague.

2. To worry, annoy, or frustrate.

3. To possess with or as if with a devil; bewitch.

4. To spoil; ruin.

be·dev′il·ment n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

bedevil

(bɪˈdɛvəl)

vb (tr) , -ils, -illing or -illed, -ils, -iling or -iled

1. to harass or torment

2. to throw into confusion

3. to possess, as with a devil

beˈdevilment n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

be•dev•il

(bɪˈdɛv əl)

v.t. -iled, -il•ing (esp. Brit.) -illed, -il•ling.

1. to torment or harass maliciously or diabolically.

2. to possess as if with a devil; bewitch.

3. to cause confusion or doubt in; muddle; confound.

4. to beset or hamper continuously: a new building bedeviled by elevator failures.

[1760–70]

be•dev′il•ment, n.

bedevil

Past participle: bedevilled
Gerund: bedevilling

Imperative
bedevil
bedevil

Present
I bedevil
you bedevil
he/she/it bedevils
we bedevil
you bedevil
they bedevil

Preterite
I bedevilled
you bedevilled
he/she/it bedevilled
we bedevilled
you bedevilled
they bedevilled

Present Continuous
I am bedevilling
you are bedevilling
he/she/it is bedevilling
we are bedevilling
you are bedevilling
they are bedevilling

Present Perfect
I have bedevilled
you have bedevilled
he/she/it has bedevilled
we have bedevilled
you have bedevilled
they have bedevilled

Past Continuous
I was bedevilling
you were bedevilling
he/she/it was bedevilling
we were bedevilling
you were bedevilling
they were bedevilling

Past Perfect
I had bedevilled
you had bedevilled
he/she/it had bedevilled
we had bedevilled
you had bedevilled
they had bedevilled

Future
I will bedevil
you will bedevil
he/she/it will bedevil
we will bedevil
you will bedevil
they will bedevil

Future Perfect
I will have bedevilled
you will have bedevilled
he/she/it will have bedevilled
we will have bedevilled
you will have bedevilled
they will have bedevilled

Future Continuous
I will be bedevilling
you will be bedevilling
he/she/it will be bedevilling
we will be bedevilling
you will be bedevilling
they will be bedevilling

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been bedevilling
you have been bedevilling
he/she/it has been bedevilling
we have been bedevilling
you have been bedevilling
they have been bedevilling

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been bedevilling
you will have been bedevilling
he/she/it will have been bedevilling
we will have been bedevilling
you will have been bedevilling
they will have been bedevilling

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been bedevilling
you had been bedevilling
he/she/it had been bedevilling
we had been bedevilling
you had been bedevilling
they had been bedevilling

Conditional
I would bedevil
you would bedevil
he/she/it would bedevil
we would bedevil
you would bedevil
they would bedevil

Past Conditional
I would have bedevilled
you would have bedevilled
he/she/it would have bedevilled
we would have bedevilled
you would have bedevilled
they would have bedevilled

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Verb	1.	bedevil - treat cruelly; "The children tormented the stuttering teacher" dun, rag, torment, frustrate, crucify madden - drive up the wall; go on someone's nerves beset, chevvy, chevy, chivvy, chivy, harass, harry, hassle, molest, plague, provoke - annoy continually or chronically; "He is known to harry his staff when he is overworked"; "This man harasses his female co-workers" hamstring - make ineffective or powerless; "The teachers were hamstrung by the overly rigid schedules" badger, beleaguer, bug, pester, tease - annoy persistently; "The children teased the boy because of his stammer" persecute, oppress - cause to suffer; "Jews were persecuted in the former Soviet Union"
	2.	bedevil - 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" befuddle, confound, confuse, discombobulate, fox, fuddle, throw demoralize - confuse or put into disorder; "the boss's behavior demoralized everyone in the office" bewilder, dumbfound, flummox, baffle, mystify, nonplus, perplex, puzzle, stupefy, amaze, gravel, vex, pose, stick, beat, get - be a mystery or bewildering to; "This beats me!"; "Got me--I don't know the answer!"; "a vexing problem"; "This question really stuck me" disconcert, flurry, confuse, put off - cause to feel embarrassment; "The constant attention of the young man confused her" disorient, disorientate - cause to be lost or disoriented be - have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun); "John is rich"; "This is not a good answer"

bedevil

verb plague, worry, trouble, frustrate, torture, irritate, torment, harass, hassle (informal), aggravate (informal), afflict, pester, vex, irk, give someone grief (Brit. & S. African) His career was bedevilled by injury.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

bedevil

verb

1. To trouble persistently from or as if from all sides:

badger, beleaguer, beset, besiege, harass, harry, hound, importune, pester, plague, solicit.

2. To disturb by repeated attacks:

annoy, bait, beleaguer, beset, harass, harry, pester, plague, tease, torment, worry.

Translations

bedevil

[bɪˈdevəl] VT to be bedevilled by problems [project] → estar plagado de problemas
the team has been bedevilled by injuries → el equipo ha sufrido muchas lesiones
an industry bedevilled by rising costs → una industria aquejada por el aumento de los costes

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

bedevil

[bɪˈdɛv^əl] vt (= create problems for) → miner
to be bedevilled by sth [person] → être miné(e) par qch; [enterprise, organization] → être miné(e) par qch

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

bedevil

vt → komplizieren, erschweren; bedevilled (Brit) or bedeviled (US) by misfortune → vom Schicksal verfolgt; bedevilled (Brit) or bedeviled (US) by injuries → von Verletzungen heimgesucht

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

bedevil

[bɪˈdɛvl] vt (person) → affliggere, tormentare; (enterprise) → intralciare, ostacolare continuamente

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References in classic literature ?

ONE pleasant day in the latter part of eternity, as the Shades of all the great writers were reposing upon beds of asphodel and moly in the Elysian fields, each happy in hearing from the lips of the others nothing but copious quotation from his own works (for so Jove had kindly bedeviled their ears), there came in among them with triumphant mien a Shade whom none knew.

For Jove had not bedeviled her ears, and she heard from the lips of each blessed Shade an incessant flow of quotation from his own works.

View in context

And as I stood and looked, and as be who led me there looked at me and smiled and questioned and bedeviled me with those mad, black, tired-scholar's eyes of his, I knew that that was no way for my dear clay.

View in context

ISLAMABAD -- Iranian ambassador Mehdi Hunar Dost has said his country hopes for cooperation from Pakistan on US-Iran conflict while some elements are trying to bedevil Pak-Iran ties.

Iran cannot even think of attacking Pakistani: Mehdi Hunar Dost

According to initial investigation by police, suspect had tied up his wife in chains because according to him she was bedevil and he had also subjected severe torture at her.

Enchained female allegedly tortured by husband recovered

Muhoroni MP Onyango Koyoo said Raila and Uhuru should be backed as the meeting is aimed at tackling issues that bedevil the country.

Cotu says Raila and Uhuru meeting will unite Kenyans

Summary: The Christmas season is in full swing in Lebanon, bringing along with it the usual complaints about high prices that bedevil the average consumer.It's a familiar complaint, one that seems to rear its head on other religious holidays, like Eid al-Adha, and perhaps signals a macabre sort of inter-sectarian unity.The reasons behind the phenomenon are no mystery

Disparity in means as Christmas looms

Islamabad, Jun.11 (ANI): Acknowledging that the trust deficit between India and Pakistan has existed from a long time, Islamabad has said that it was important to discuss all pending issues which bedevil the relationship between the two South Asian neighbours.

Important to move forward from decades old Indo-Pak trust deficit: Pak FO

They go to pubs and clubs, and are affected by the poisons that bedevil our modern world.

Sunday Mercury SAYS: Howzat happen?

Daft though the story may sound, it does epitomise an attitude that has bedevilled our treatment of children for some time and has led to many of the ills that bedevil society.

EDUCATION MATTERS: High price to pay for blunting pupils' edge; NEVER MIND THE BULLOCK Plain speaking from ex-teacher Brenda Bullock

Connie Mack--recommended endorse immediate expensing of capital expenditures and ditch the complicated depreciation schedules that bedevil many corporate taxpayers.

Advisory tax commission recommendations

Add to this reject list her recent video compilations made with Gary Hillberg, Artist, 2000, and Love, 2003, and you'd be forgiven for forgetting the driven intensity of her own 35 mm films, Night Cries--A Rural Tragedy, 1989, and beDevil, 1993, traces of which persist faintly in her vampiric surfer documentary, Heaven, 1997.

Tracey Moffatt: Museum of Contemporary Art

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