bedevil Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb treat cruelly
    rag; crucify; dun; frustrate; torment.
    • The children tormented the stuttering teacher
  2. verb be confusing or perplexing to; cause to be unable to think clearly
    discombobulate; confuse; fox; confound; befuddle; fuddle; throw.
    • These questions confuse even the experts
    • This question completely threw me
    • This question befuddled even the teacher

WordNet

Be*dev"il transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Bedevilled (); present participle & verbal noun Bedeviling or Bedevilling
Definitions
  1. To throw into utter disorder and confusion, as if by the agency of evil spirits; to bring under diabolical influence; to torment.
    Bedeviled and used worse than St. Bartholomew. Sterne.
  2. To spoil; to corrupt. Wright.

Webster 1913