hellion
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of hellion
1835–45, hell + -ion, as in scullion, rapscallion
Explanation
A hellion is someone who makes mischief or gets into trouble. You might refer to the kids you babysit as a bunch of hellions if they regularly refuse to go to bed, instead staging massive pillow fights. Hellion almost always describes a young person, often a child, who raises a ruckus or makes trouble in some rowdy way. The little boy next door might have most people fooled into thinking he's an angel, but you'll know he's a hellion when you spot him jumping off the roof into a pile of snow or putting firecrackers in your mailbox. Hellion is an American word, inspired by the Scottish hallion, or "scamp."
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.
His pharmacist father became the reformist mayor of Santiago, and the youthful Desi — born Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha in 1917 — a bit of a hellion.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2025
Nimona is a shape-shifter, a monster, a misunderstood hellion with a heart of gold.
From New York Times ● Aug. 4, 2023
A little hellion, according to her own description, she was not adopted even after her picture and profile were featured as a child needing a forever home in The Seattle Times.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 27, 2021
But clearly, the hellion he married wouldn’t allow that.
From Slate ● Jun. 3, 2015
The Triple Crown winner was a hellion, repeatedly barging through the gate and dragging the assistant starter with him.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
