To make devilish or wicked; to give a devilish character or quality to something.
From 'devil' plus '-ize' (from Greek -izein, via Latin -izare). The '-ize' suffix creates verbs meaning 'to make' or 'to become': realize, humanize, demonize, terrorize.
The '-ize' suffix is so versatile that English speakers can instantly create verbs from almost any noun—'we need to devilize this policy' would be instantly understood even if rarely said. This is why English can evolve vocabulary so quickly.
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