infernal

[ in-fur-nl ]
See synonyms for: infernalinfernally on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. hellish; fiendish; diabolical: an infernal plot.

  2. extremely troublesome, annoying, etc.; atrocious: an infernal nuisance.

  1. of, inhabiting, or befitting hell.

  2. Classical Mythology. of or relating to the underworld.

Origin of infernal

1
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Late Latin infernālis, equivalent to Latin infern(us) “situated below, of the underworld” (see inferior) + -ālis -al1

Other words for infernal

Other words from infernal

  • in·fer·nal·i·ty, noun
  • in·fer·nal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use infernal in a sentence

  • And he was so infernally insistent about it, that she was forced to pull up and get away from the post in self-defense.

    Raw Gold | Bertrand W. Sinclair
  • The time passed infernally slowly for men waiting to test a hopeless hazard.

    A Virginia Scout | Hugh Pendexter
  • The consolation lay in the probability that such infernally bad soldiers would have made jurors quite as infernally bad.

    The Lieutenant-Governor | Guy Wetmore Carryl
  • You're a brick to join me in this sort of life, and I'm afraid I'm an infernally bad host.

    The Riddle of the Sands | Erskine Childers
  • I suppose they know their own business best, but they do seem most infernally slow in getting under weigh.

British Dictionary definitions for infernal

infernal

/ (ɪnˈfɜːnəl) /


adjective
  1. of or relating to an underworld of the dead

  2. deserving hell or befitting its occupants; diabolic; fiendish

  1. informal irritating; confounded

Origin of infernal

1
C14: from Late Latin infernālis, from infernus hell, from Latin (adj): lower, hellish; related to Latin inferus low

Derived forms of infernal

  • infernality, noun
  • infernally, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012