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devotee
about the latest development in the murder trial? | The use of
computers in business is a fairly recent development. 4 [C] a
developed piece of land, especially one that has houses built
on it: to live in a new housing development ---al
/dı,vələp'mentlı/ adv
de'velopment,area n BrE an area of high unemployment,
to which the government encourages new industries to
come
de-vi-ant /di:viənt/ || also de-vi-ate /-ət/ AmE - Adj (of a
person's behaviour) different from what is socially accept-
able in Britain, the US, and many other countries: sexually
deviant behaviour | Deviant children need help. ance n [U]
-deviant n
de-vi-ate /di:vieit/ v [I(from)] to be different or move away
from a usual or accepted standard of behaviour: She never
deviates from her regular habits. | On this occasion the plane
deviated from its usual flight path.
de-vi-a-tion /dırvierfən/ n 1 [C;U(from)] (a) noticeable dif-
ference from what is expected, especially from accepted
standards of behaviour: sexual deviation | a slight deviation
from the original plan 2 [C] tech a measurable difference
from a standard, especially a) the difference between the
MAGNETIC NORTH (=to which the COMPASS needle points) and
true north b) (in STATISTICS) the difference between a
measure and the average of all the measures
de-vi-a-tion-ist /di:vi'efənıst/ n derog a person who disa-
grees about some points of a system of political beliefs
-ism n [U]
de-vice /dr'vars/ n 1 a piece of equipment intended for a
particular purpose: a device for varying the speed of a cam-
era's shutter | The missile has a heat-seeking device which
enables it to find its target. ➔ See MACHINE (USAGE) 2 a plan,
especially for a rather dishonest purpose: a device for avoid-
ing income tax 3 a special phrase intended to produce a
particular effect in a work of literature: a rhetorical
device 4 euph a bomb or other explosive weapon: an incendi-
ary device 5 tech a drawing or picture used by a noble family
as their special sign: the device on his shield 6 leave some-
one to their own devices to leave someone alone, without
help
dev-il¹ /'devəl/ n 1 [the] (usually cap.) the most powerful evil
spirit in Christianity; SATAN ➔ See also HELL 2 [C] an evil
spirit: spending eternity tormented by devils 3 [C] an evil
person: My son can be a little devil at times! 4 [C] infml humor a
high-spirited person who is ready for adventure: Go on be a
devil and have another cream cake! 5 [C] infml (in expres-
sions of strong feeling) a person: You lucky devil! | The poor
devils have been stuck at the airport for three days. 6 [(the)S]
slang (used to give force to various expressions, especially of
displeasure): We had a devil of a job trying to persuade her. |
What the devil happened? 7 between the devil and the
deep (blue) sea infml facing two choices, both of which are
unpleasant 8 Devil take the hindmost You must make sure
of your own success and not worry about other peo-
ple 9 give the devil his due to be fair even to a bad
person 10 go to the devil a) to be ruined b) to go away at
once: 'I want $100 from you today.' 'Go to the devil.' 11 like
the devil infml with great speed, force etc: We ran like the
devil. 12 The devil finds work for idle hands to do If
people are not kept busy, they may do something that they
should not be doing 13 the devil to pay slang a great deal of
trouble: There'll be the devil to pay if we're caught inside the
building. 14 the devil you know also better the devil you
know an expression used to give one's opinion that it is
better to stay with someone who is not very dependable
than to find someone else, whom you may later find is
exactly the same or worse: I'm not happy about dealing with
his company, but it's a case of the devil you know 15 The
devil you will/won't, he can/can't etc old-fash slang (used as a
rude reply showing strong disagreement): 'John says he'll'
leave early today.' 'The devil he will!' ➔ See also play the
devil with (PLAY²), talk of the devil (TALK¹)
**CULTURAL NOTE** In the US and UK, the Devil is typically
shown with red skin, horns on his head, a long tail with a
pointed end, and the legs of a goat. He is also shown
holding a long fork with three points and is usually
surrounded by flames. People often think of the Devil as
living in Hell and ruling over the people there.
devil² v -ll- BrE || -l- AmE [T] 1 BrE to cook in a very hot-tasting
thick liquid: devilled chicken/eggs 2 AmE to add a hot SPICE
to a food which has been cut up very fine
dev-il-ish /'devəlıf/ Adj very bad or very difficult: devilish
schemes | a devilish problem to solve -ness n [U]
dev-il-ish-ly /'devəlıfli/ also devilish - adv infml (showing
displeasure) very; a word used especially by upper-class
people: It was devilish(ly) hard work climbing the mountain.
,devil-may-'care Adj cheerful, careless, and wild in behav-
iour; RECKLESS
dev-il-ment /'devəlmənt/ also dev-il-ry /-rı/ also deviltry
AmE-n [U] (a piece of) wild or bad behaviour that usually
causes trouble: That child is always busy with some devilment
or other.
,devil's 'advocate n a person who continually questions a
plan, idea etc even though they may not disagree with it, in
order to test how good it is: He wouldn't join in the argu-
ment, but just played devil's advocate.
'devil's-food cake n [C;U] AmE a kind of rich chocolate
cake
,Devil's 'Island an island near the coast of French Guiana in
South America, which was used as a prison by France until
1938. Prisoners there lived in very bad conditions. One of the
most famous prisoners was Alfred DREYFUS.
dev-il-try /'devıltrı/ n AmE for DEVILMENT
de-vi-ous /'di:vıəs/ Adj 1 not going in the straightest way: a
devious route 2 derog not direct and not completely honest:
He's very devious. | She used devious means to gain power
-ly adv-ness n [U]
de-vise /dı'vaız/ v [T] 1 to plan or invent, especially clever-
ly: They devised a plan for getting the jewels out of the
country. 2 devise and bequeath law to BEQUEATH
de-vi-tal-ize also -ise BrE /di:'vantl-arz/ v [T] to take the
strength or power from ➔ Compare REVITALIZE —ization
/dı,vartl-ar'zerjn-al'zer-/n [U]
De-Vi-to, Dan-ny /də 'vi:təu, 'dæni/ (1944-) an American
film actor, DIRECTOR, and PRODUCER who is best known for
appearing in COMEDY films and for being very short. His
films include Batman Returns, Twins, and Romancing the
Stone. He also appeared in the television series Taxi.
de-void /dr'vold/ Adj [F+of] fml empty (of); lacking (in): This
house is totally devoid of furniture. | He is devoid of human
feeling!
de-vo-lu-tion /di:və'lu:ʃən/ n [U] the giving of governmen-
tal or personal power to a person or group at a lower or more
local level. Scotland and Wales voted for devolution from the
British government in 1997: the devolution lobby ➔ See also
HOME RULE and see Feature on page A21 -ist n, adj
de-volve /dr'volv||di'va:lv/ v
devolve on/upon sbdy. phr v [T no pass.] (of power, work
etc) to be passed to (a person or group at a lower level):
While the President is ill, his work will devolve on his deputy.
devolve to sbdy. phr v [T no pass.] law (of land, goods etc) to
become the property of (someone) on the death of the
owner: The house will devolve to his daughter.
Dev-on /'devən/ a COUNTY in southwest England known for
its natural beauty. It includes DARTMOOR and part of
EXMOOR National Park, and attracts a lot of tourists. Thick
cream and CIDER (=alcoholic apple juice) are well-known
products of Devon.
de-vote /dr'veut/ v
devote sthg. to sbdy./sthg. phr v [T] to set apart for; give
completely to: He has devoted his life to helping blind people. |
I don't think we should devote any more time to this question. |
Several pages of the paper were devoted to an account of the
election. | Most of our meetings were devoted to discussing the
housing problem.
de-vot-ed /dr'vautid/ Adj [(to)] showing great fondness or
loyalty; caring a great deal: a devoted father/friend | He is
very devoted to his wife. I devoted to music/football -ly adv
dev-o-tee /,devə'ti:/ n 1 [(of)] a person who has great
admiration for, or interest in, someone or something: a
devotee of Bach (=Bach's music)/football 2 a very religious
person: The temple was full of devotees praying.