First Known Use: before 12th century
Dictionary
fiend
noun \ˈfēnd\
: an evil spirit : a demon or devil
: a very evil or cruel person
: a person who is very enthusiastic about something
Full Definition of FIEND
1
2
: a person extremely devoted to a pursuit or study : fanatic <a golf fiend>
3
: addict 1 <a dope fiend>
4
: wizard 3 <a fiend at mathematics>
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See fiend defined for kids
Examples of FIEND
- 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
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Origin of FIEND
Middle English, from Old English fīend; akin to Old High German fīant enemy, Sanskrit pīyati he reviles, blames
Related to FIEND
FIEND Defined for Kids
fiend
noun \ˈfēnd\
Definition of FIEND for Kids
2
: a very wicked or cruel person
3
: 2fanatic <a golf fiend>
— fiend·ish \ˈfēn-dish\ adjective <a fiendish trick>
— fiend·ish·ly adverb
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