fiend

noun

1
b
: demon
c
: a person of great wickedness or maliciousness
2
: a person extremely devoted to a pursuit or study : fanatic
a golf fiend
3
: addict sense 1
a dope fiend
4
: wizard sense 2
a fiend at mathematics

Examples of fiend in a Sentence

His hands were trembling, actually trembling, as if he were some sort of coffee fiend or something. T. Coraghessan Boyle, The Road to Wellville, 1993
Wodehouse may not have liked Dickens, but he certainly read him. He read like a fiend. Christopher Hitchens, Times Literary Supplement, 7-13 Sept. 1990
The shameless effrontery of the fiend, at the café, pretending to forget all he had done to her, begging to take up with her again, as if nothing had happened between them a dozen years ago. Irving Wallace, The Plot, 1967
a fiend in human form He's a real golf fiend.
Recent Examples on the Web Attention all Connections fiends, Wordle lovers and Spelling Bee solvers: Strands is a new game that the New York Times Games team is beta-testing. Elie Levine, New York Times, 4 Mar. 2024 Pancake fiends should also note the location of the House of Pancakes. Kaitlyn McInnis, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024 The world is split into different regions, huge open-world maps with towers to climb, scouting, side quests, chocobo catching, fiend fighting, a new card game, and many more experiences. Megan Farokhmanesh, WIRED, 22 Feb. 2024 Celebrated monster-suit actor Doug Jones portrays the fiend, as well as the long-limbed Faun who leads our young heroine into a subterranean world of magic and danger. Katie Rife, EW.com, 19 Oct. 2023 The sweet stays will only be bookable for one lucky pair of Wonka fiends per hotel. Kaitlyn McInnis, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2023 The Cheese Lover's Gift Guide Club memberships, a cheesy snack poster, and more gifts for fromage fiends. Carina Finn, Bon Appétit, 4 Dec. 2023 The Trust restorers wanted to ensure the painting still included what Reynolds originally created – a fiend. Caitlin O'Kane, CBS News, 10 Nov. 2023 Club memberships, a cheesy snack poster, and more gifts for fromage fiends. Devra Ferst, Bon Appétit, 10 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fiend.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English fīend; akin to Old High German fīant enemy, Sanskrit pīyati he reviles, blames

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of fiend was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near fiend

Cite this Entry

“Fiend.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fiend. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

fiend

noun
1
2
: an extremely wicked or cruel person
3
a
: a person enthusiastically devoted to something
fiendish
ˈfēn-dish
adjective
fiendishly adverb
fiendishness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on fiend

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