Word.ws English Dictionary

the devil that you know is better than the devil that you don't know

the devil that you know is better than the devil that you don't know is the alternative form of better the devil you know than the devil you don't know.

Meaning of better the devil you know than the devil you don't know

Proverb

better the devil you know than the devil you don't know

  1. Something bad and familiar is better than something bad and unknown.

Questions about the devil that you know is better than the devil that you don't know

What is the devil that you know is better than the devil that you don't know the alternative form of?
The devil that you know is better than the devil that you don't know is the alternative form of better the devil you know than the devil you don't know.

Words near the devil that you know is better than the devil that you don't know in the dictionary

  1. the devil is in the details
  2. the devil looks after his own
  3. the devil makes work for idle hands
  4. the devil take the hindmost
  5. the devil takes care of his own
  6. the devil that you know is better than the devil that you don't know
  7. the devil to pay and no pitch hot or ready
  8. the devil we know is better than the devil we don't
  9. the devil we know is better than the devil we don't know
  10. the devil you know
  11. the devil you know is better than the devil you don't

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: the devil that you know is better than the devil that you don't know (page history and authors); better the devil you know than the devil you don't know (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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