bedevil

English

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der.

Proto-Indo-European *h₁épsder.

Proto-Indo-European *h₁épider.

Proto-Indo-European *h₁pi

Proto-Germanic *bider.

Proto-Germanic *bi-

Proto-West Germanic *bi-

Old English be-

Middle English bi-

English be-

Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁

▲

Proto-Indo-European *trísinflu.

Proto-Indo-European *dwísder.

Ancient Greek διά (diá)

Ancient Greek δια- (dia-)

Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH-der.

Proto-Hellenic *gʷəlnō

Ancient Greek βάλλω (bállō)

Ancient Greek διαβάλλω (diabállō)

Ancient Greek διάβολος (diábolos)bor.

Latin diabolusbor.

Proto-West Germanic *diubul

Old English dēofol

Middle English devel

English devil

English bedevil

From be- + devil.

bedevil (third-person singular simple present bedevils, present participle (US) bedeviling or (UK) bedevilling, simple past and past participle (US) bedeviled or (UK) bedevilled)

To harass or cause trouble for; to plague.
Synonyms: disturb, molest, pester; see also Thesaurus:annoy, Thesaurus:pester

Guerrilla attacks continued to bedevil the larger army's supply routes.
- 1988 December 19, William Styron, “Why Primo Levi Need Not Have Died”, in The New York Times‎^[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 29 August 2022:
  Mr. Levi may have been bedeviled by buried conflicts unrelated to Auschwitz.
- 2010 March 19, Joseph Berger, “How to Say Theater in Yiddish? Two Ways”, in The New York Times‎^[2], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 11 June 2019:
  Such amity is no small thing. The narrowing world of Yiddish theater has been bedeviled with one “broyges — a cherished term for a falling out — after another
- 2013, Rockstar Games, Grand Theft Auto V, scene: The Third Way:
  Michael De Santa (Ned Luke): […] I'm no intelligent businessman like you, but the way I see it, there's two great evils that bedevil American capitalism of the type that you practice.
To perplex or bewilder.
Synonyms: befuddle, bemuse; see also Thesaurus:confuse
(originally) To possess (someone's mind).
Synonym: bodyjack

The spellings bedeviling and bedeviled are preferred in the US, while bedevilling and bedevilled are preferred in the UK. However, the choice of spellings is not universal.

to harass