Mephistopheles

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Railroad magnate and speculator Jay Gould was dubbed “the Mephistopheles of Wall Street” by ministers on the pulpit.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 2, 2025

But the old stories of the magicians and their bargains, of Faust and his Mephistopheles, suggest that we would be wise to fear apparent obedience as well.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 3, 2023

In life, however, Höfgen plays Faust, the weak, tempted one, while the part of Mephistopheles is taken by the Nazi state and its functionaries.

From New York Times • Sep. 11, 2020

“My favourite stage direction ever,” Dilley tells me between takes, “is the one telling me Mephistopheles is troubled by the Kantian dialectic.”

From The Guardian • Jul. 16, 2018

As for Patti—I have a picture of Adelina as Marguerite in which she looks like Satan's own daughter, a young and feminine Mephistopheles to the life.

From Memoirs of an American Prima Donna by Kellogg, Clara Louise