Summary
First published in 1906 as The Cynic’s Word Book and later expanded into The Devil’s Dictionary, Ambrose Bierce’s masterpiece of satirical wit offers a darkly humorous reimagining of the dictionary form.
Through biting definitions of everyday words, Bierce skewers human folly, hypocrisy, politics, religion, and society at large.
Blending sharp cynicism with literary elegance, the work transforms language into a vehicle of social critique and mordant comedy.
Frequently cited as one of the great works of American satire, The Devil’s Dictionary remains both wickedly entertaining and surprisingly relevant more than a century after its publication.