satanic

Satanic is an adjective relating to Satan or to Satanism. The term derives from Latin Satanas, from Hebrew ha-satan, meaning "the adversary" or "accuser." In Christian and Jewish texts, "satanic" describes things associated with Satan as a supernatural adversary; in broader usage it often denotes beliefs, rituals, symbols, or attitudes associated with Satanism.

Satanism is a diverse set of ideologies and practices that use Satan as a symbol or as a literal being to be venerated or worshiped. Theistic Satanism presents Satan as a deity or supernatural being to be worshiped. Theistic groups vary in beliefs and practices. Secular, atheistic, or humanistic Satanism—most prominently represented by the Church of Satan (founded 1966) and The Satanic Temple (founded 2013)—uses Satan as a symbolic figure representing individualism, personal autonomy, critical inquiry, and skepticism of arbitrary authority, without endorsing the supernatural.

In modern culture, "satanic" is frequently used to describe imagery or themes linked to satanic, diabolic, or occult aesthetics in literature, music, film, and fashion. The term has also been central to the Satanic Panic of the 1980s and 1990s, a moral panic about alleged widespread Satanic ritual abuse that research and investigations have rejected as unfounded.

In academic and popular contexts, discussions of "satanic" phenomena typically distinguish between belief systems that worship or venerate Satan, and secular or symbolic uses that adopt Satan as a provocative or critical symbol.