fiend

/fiːnd/ (bre, ipa) · /fiːnd/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈfēnd/ (ame, mw)

fiend — noun

  • fiendsingular
  • fiendsplural

1. a person who is shockingly cruel and seems to enjoy hurting or exploiting others

1.名詞C1
釋義

a person who is shockingly cruel and seems to enjoy hurting or exploiting others

例句

After the fraud, Mark called the landlord a fiend who preyed on students.

fiend who + clause for a cruel person

The novel's fiend locks families in the cellar for weeks.

literary villain sense

同義詞
  • monster

    stronger and broader; can suggest moral horror or emotional inhumanity

  • brute

    focuses more on rough violence and lack of feeling than on wicked intent

  • villain

    broader; often used for a wrongdoer in stories without the same intensity of cruelty

  • devil

    more flexible and sometimes playful, while fiend is harsher in this sense

反義詞
  • saint

    describes someone seen as morally good and selfless

  • gentle person

    emphasizes kindness and lack of cruelty

文法句型

a fiend

fiend who + clause

用法筆記

Usually used for extreme cruelty, not ordinary rudeness or selfishness. It often appears in moral condemnation, crime reporting, and dramatic storytelling.

常見錯誤

❌The boy is a fiend because he forgot my book.
✅The boy was rude because he forgot my book.
💡fiend is a very strong word for someone shockingly cruel, not for a small everyday fault.

2. someone who is extremely keen on a particular thing and keeps wanting more of it

2.名詞C1
釋義

someone who is extremely keen on a particular thing and keeps wanting more of it, often in a humorous or mildly critical way

例句

Lisa is a crossword fiend and finishes the weekend puzzle before breakfast.

noun before fiend for a strong hobby interest

At exam time, Hyun became a coffee fiend and drank four cups a day.

coffee fiend for repeated craving

同義詞
  • enthusiast

    more neutral and less suggestive of excess

  • fanatic

    stronger and often broader; can also apply to political or religious intensity

  • addict

    stronger and more negative; may suggest loss of control or real dependence

  • devotee

    more formal and often suggests long-term loyalty rather than craving

反義詞
  • dabbler

    someone with only light or passing interest

  • casual user

    focuses on limited, non-obsessive interest

文法句型

a fiend for + noun

[noun] fiend

用法筆記

Often appears in patterns like 'a fiend for bargains' or 'a coffee fiend'. The tone is usually humorous or slightly critical, not literally about evil.

常見錯誤

❌Nadia is a fiend of old horror films.
✅Nadia is a fiend for old horror films.
💡this pattern normally uses for before the thing the person cannot resist.

3. a demon or other bad spirit in stories, religion, or horror writing

3.名詞C2
釋義

a demon or other bad spirit in stories, religion, or horror writing

例句

In the folktale, a mountain fiend steals the village children at dusk.

folktale creature sense

The priest warned that the fiend had entered the house through envy.

religious warning with fiend

同義詞
  • demon

    the most general modern word for an evil spirit

  • devil

    can name the supreme evil being or a demon-like creature

  • evil spirit

    plain descriptive phrase rather than a literary label

反義詞
  • angel

    a good spiritual being rather than an evil one

文法句型

a fiend

fiend of + place/story

用法筆記

Now mostly literary or old-fashioned outside fantasy, folklore, and religious writing. In everyday speech, people more often say demon or devil.