| Principales traductions |
| devil n | (evil supernatural being) | diable nm |
| | | démon nm |
| | | esprit malin nm |
| | Hell is supposed to be full of devils. |
| | L'enfer est censé être plein de diables. |
the devil,
the Devil n | often capitalized (religion: evil being, Satan) (Religion) | le Diable nm propre |
| | | Satan nm propre |
| | The preacher warned his congregation not to allow the Devil to tempt them. |
| | Le pasteur mit en garde l'assistance contre les tentations du Diable. |
| devil n | figurative (evil person) (figuré : personne) | diable, démon nm |
| | The dictator was a devil to his people. |
| | Le dictateur était un démon pour son peuple. |
| devil n | figurative, informal (mischievous person) (figuré : personne) | diable, démon nm |
| | (enfant) | petit monstre nm |
| | Those devils poured a bucket of water over me! |
| | Ces petits monstres m'ont vidé un seau d'eau sur la tête ! |
| devil [sb]⇒ vtr | mainly US (annoy, harass) | harceler⇒ vtr |
| | The journalists kept devilling the politician. |
| | Les journalistes ne cessaient de harceler l'homme politique. |
| devil [sth]⇒ vtr | (food: prepare with spices) | accommoder aux épices vtr |
| | I'm devilling an egg for lunch. |
| | Pour ce midi, j’accommode un œuf aux épices. |
| the devil interj | (emphatic expletive, mild oath) (familier, un peu vieilli) | diable expr |
| | | enfin expr |
| | (légèrement vieilli) | pardi expr |
| | The devil, he will; I'm putting a stop to it right now. Who the devil told you that? |
| | Diable, il le fera. J'y mets un terme tout de suite. Qui diable vous a dit cela ? |
| | Mais qui t'as dit ça enfin ? |
| | Il le fera pardi. J'y mets un terme tout de suite. |
| a devil n | figurative, informal ([sth] difficult, resistant) | difficile, compliqué adj |
| | (familier) | galère adj |
| | (un peu familier) | to have the devil of a time doing sth : avoir un mal fou à faire [qch] loc v |
| | This job is a devil, but it's interesting. |
| | Ce métier est difficile, mais intéressant |
| a devil of a n | figurative, informal ([sth] difficult, unpleasant) (figuré, familier : bazar, problème,...) | sacré adj |
| | (figuré, familier : mal) | fou, folle adj |
| | My family has had a devil of a time this past year. |
| | Ma famille a passé une sacrée année. |
Formes composées
devil | printer's devil |
between the devil and the deep blue sea,
between a rock and a hard place,
between Scylla and Charybdis expr | figurative (facing a dilemma) | entre le marteau et l'enclume loc adv |
blue heaven,
blue angel,
blue devil n | US, slang (drug: barbiturate) (drogue) | barbiturique nm |
Cartesian diver,
Cartesian devil n | (teaching aid: demonstrates buoyancy) (Science) | ludion nm |
| a devil of a job n | informal (difficult, challenging task) (familier) | sacré boulot nm |
| | (familier) | mal de chien nm |
| devil ray n | (manta ray: flat-bodied fish) (raie) | mante nf |
| | Steve Irwin met his death when he was stung by a devil ray on the Great Barrier Reef. |
| devil-may-care adj | informal (person, approach: reckless) (familier) | je-m'en-foutiste, je-m'en-fichiste adj |
| | (familier) | désinvolte adj |
| | | insouciant adj |
| devil-may-care attitude n | informal (recklessness) (familier) | attitude je-m'en-foutiste, attitude je-m'en-fichiste nf |
| | | désinvolture nf |
| | | insouciance nf |
| | | attitude risque-tout nf |
| devil's advocate n | figurative ([sb] who argues in favour of [sth] unpopular) | avocat du diable nm |
| | Je ne voudrais pas me faire l'avocat du diable, mais il est vrai que la peine de mort avait de bons côtés. |
| devil's claw n | (herb) (Botanique) | griffe du diable nf |
| dust devil n | (small whirlwind) | tourbillon de poussière nm |
| | Visitors to Texas are likely to see dust devils on the highway. |
| embrace the devil v expr | figurative (accept [sth] you hate) (figuré) | faire un pacte avec le diable loc v |
| | (figuré) | prendre sur soi loc v |
| give the devil his due v expr | informal (give credit to [sb] you dislike) | reconnaître [qch] à [qqn] (que l'on n'aime pas) vtr + prép |
| | | rendre à César ce qui appartient à César loc v |
| go to the devil v expr | informal (fail completely, be ruined) | se casser la figure expr |
| go to the devil v expr | informal (person: become depraved) | commencer sa descente aux enfers loc v |
| go to the devil interj | potentially offensive, informal (expletive: disgust, rejection) | va au diable interj |
have a devil of a job doing [sth],
have a devil of a job to do [sth] v expr | informal (do [sth] difficult, challenging) (familier) | avoir un mal de chien à faire [qch] loc v |
let the devil take the hindmost,
the devil take the hindmost expr | (leave others to their fates) | chacun pour soi expr |
| little devil n | figurative, informal (naughty child) (figuré : enfant) | petit diable, petit monstre, diablotin nm |
| | My brother was a little devil when he was young. |
| | Quand il était enfant, mon frère était un petit diable. |
| lucky devil n | figurative, informal ([sb] fortunate or envied) (figuré, familier) | sacré veinard, sacrée veinarde nm, nf |
orange hawkweed,
devil's paintbrush n | (plant: orange flowers) (plante) | épervière orangée, piloselle orangée nf |
| play the devil with [sth] v expr | informal (ruin, spoil) (familier) | bousiller⇒, détraquer⇒ vtr |
| put the devil in [sb] v expr | informal, figurative (make [sb] wild, angry) | provoquer la colère de [qqn] loc v + prép |
| raise the devil v expr | (cause a commotion) (familier) | faire du grabuge loc v |
| raise the devil v expr | (make an emphatic protest) (familier) | faire du grabuge loc v |
| red devil n | US, slang (capsule of drug) (drogue) | sécobarbital, quinalbarbital nm |
| | (moins précis mais plus compréhensible) | barbiturique nm |
| she-devil n | figurative, pejorative (evil woman) | diablesse nf |
| spawn of the devil n | figurative, pejorative (very unpleasant person) | le diable incarné nm |
| | My mother-in-law can't stand me; she thinks I'm the spawn of the devil! |
Talk of the devil,
Speak of the devil interj | ([sb] just mentioned arrives) | Quand on parle du loup ! interj |
| Tasmanian devil n | (animal: fierce marsupial) (animal) | diable de Tasmanie nm |
the devil is in the details,
the devil is in the detail expr | (problematic small parts) | le diable est dans les détails expr |
| | | un simple détail peut tout faire rater expr |
| | Read the contract carefully; the devil is in the details. |
| the devil to pay expr | informal (repercussions, future trouble) | barder⇒ vi |
| ursine dasyure n | (Tasmanian devil) (animal) | diable de Tasmanie nm |
| What the heck? What the devil? interj | slang (disbelief, incomprehension) (familier) | Mais c'est quoi ce bordel ? interj |
What the devil ... ?,
What the heck ...? expr | euphemism, informal (what) | mais qu'est-ce que, mais qu'est-ce qui |
| | What the heck is going on here? |
| | Mais qu'est-ce qui se passe ici ? |
what the heck,
what the devil pron | euphemism, informal (incomprehension) | ce que, ce qui |
| Note: Souvent, on ne peut pas traduire « what the heck » littéralement. On peut juste utiliser des mots plus familiers dans le reste de la phrase pour compenser. |
| | I don't know what the heck is taking him so long. |
| | Je ne sais pas ce qui le retient comme ça. |