hellish

adjective

hell·​ish ˈhe-lish How to pronounce hellish (audio)
: of, resembling, or befitting hell
broadly : terrible
hellishly adverb
hellishness noun

Examples of hellish in a Sentence

We've been having hellish weather lately. The battlefield was a hellish scene of death and destruction.
Recent Examples on the Web There are still the familiar Terminator beats: A soldier from this hellish future is sent back in time to protect a scientist named Malcolm Lee, who is working to launch a competing A.I. system to Skynet. Nick Romano, EW.com, 15 May 2024 Venus likely started off with the same amount of water as Earth, but today the hellish world has 100,000 times less water than its sister planet Around 4.5 billion years ago, Earth and Venus were born in the midst of a chaotic star system. Passant Rabie / Gizmodo, Quartz, 8 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for hellish 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hellish.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1530, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hellish was circa 1530

Dictionary Entries Near hellish

Cite this Entry

“Hellish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hellish. Accessed 28 May. 2024.

Kids Definition

hellish

adjective
hell·​ish ˈhel-ish How to pronounce hellish (audio)
: of, resembling, or suitable to hell : infernal
hellishly adverb
hellishness noun
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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