[syn: confuse, throw, fox, befuddle, fuddle, bedevil, confound, discombobulate]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Bedevil \Be*dev"il\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bedevilled (?); p.
pr. & vb. n. Bedeviling or Bedevilling.]
1. To throw into utter disorder and confusion, as if by the
agency of evil spirits; to bring under diabolical
influence; to torment.
[1913 Webster]
Bedeviled and used worse than St. Bartholomew.
--Sterne.
[1913 Webster]
2. To spoil; to corrupt. --Wright.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
bedevil
v 1: treat cruelly; "The children tormented the stuttering
teacher" [syn: torment, rag, bedevil, crucify,
dun, frustrate]
2: be confusing or perplexing to; cause to be unable to think
clearly; "These questions confuse even the experts"; "This
question completely threw me"; "This question befuddled even
the teacher" [syn: confuse, throw, fox, befuddle,
fuddle, bedevil, confound, discombobulate]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
67 Moby Thesaurus words for "bedevil":
aggravate, annoy, badger, bait, be at, beset, bewitch, bother,
bristle, brown off, bug, bullyrag, burn up, chivy, demonize, devil,
devilize, diabolize, discompose, distemper, disturb, dog,
exasperate, exercise, fash, get, gripe, harass, harry, heckle,
hector, hex, hoodoo, hound, irk, jinx, miff, molest, nag, needle,
nettle, nudzh, obsess, overlook, peeve, persecute, pester, pick on,
pique, plague, pluck the beard, possess, pother, provoke, ride,
rile, roil, ruffle, tantalize, tease, torment, try the patience,
tweak the nose, vex, voodoo, witch, worry