bedevil
verbUK [bɪˈdɛvəɫ] · US /bɪˈdɛvəl/
Etymology From be- + devil.
1
To harass or cause trouble for; to plague.
- Guerrilla attacks continued to bedevil the larger army's supply routes.
- Mr. Levi may have been bedeviled by buried conflicts unrelated to Auschwitz.1988 December 19, William Styron, “Why Primo Levi Need Not Have Died”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 29 Aug 2022:
2 more examples
- 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 another2010 March 19, Joseph Berger, “How to Say Theater in Yiddish? Two Ways”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 11 Jun 2019:
- Michael De Santa (Ned Luke): You know, Devin [Devin Winston], the way I see it, and hey, 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.2013, Rockstar Games, Grand Theft Auto V, scene: The Third Way:
2
To perplex or bewilder.
3
To possess (someone's mind).
- Derived terms
- bedeviller, bedevilment, unbedeviled, unbedevilled