hellacious
Americanadjective
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remarkable; astonishing.
They're raising a hellacious amount of money in taxes.
-
formidably difficult.
We had a hellacious time getting here in the blizzard.
adjective
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remarkable; horrifying
-
wonderful; excellent
Etymology
Origin of hellacious
hell + -acious (extracted from audacious, sagacious, vivacious, etc.), perhaps with intensive or augmentative force; cf. bodacious, splendacious
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.
After stranding a leadoff walk in the top of the first with three-straight strikeouts, Ohtani switched from pitcher to hitter and unleashed a hellacious swing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2025
No matter which quarterback was under center, the Commanders had trouble stopping San Francisco’s hellacious front.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 24, 2022
That hellacious blaze, which burned nearly 1,000,000 acres through five counties for more than three months, was the largest single wildfire in California history.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 16, 2022
She was among the sport’s elites seven years ago, a rising star whose hellacious power and risk-it-all tactics propelled her to the semifinals of the 2015 Australian Open at 19.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 25, 2022
“We could be in for a hellacious event,” he said.
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
