hellish

[ hel-ish ]

/ ˈhɛl ɪʃ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hellish ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

of, like, or suitable to hell; infernal; vile; horrible: It was a hellish war.

miserable; abominable; execrable: We had a hellish time getting through traffic.

devilishly bad: The child's behavior was hellish most of the day.

Nearby words

hellhole, hellhound, hellin's law, hellinger, hellion, hellish, hellishly, hellkite, hellman, hellman, lillian, hello

Origin of hellish

First recorded in 1520–30; hell + -ish¹

Related forms

hell·ish·ly, adverbhell·ish·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for hellish

But there is much to be said for a private, hellish experience becoming an issue of public debate.
Harsh Truths About Domestic Violence: Why Voicing Terrible Experiences Can Help Others|Lizzie Crocker|September 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
From Ferguson to Gaza to Iraq, this summer has been hellish.
Summer 2014 Was the Worst Ever|Dean Obeidallah|August 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He was finally released in 2004, after almost 40 hellish years of brutal internment.
We Lost Soldiers in the Hunt for Bergdahl, a Guy Who Walked Off in the Dead of Night|Nathan Bradley Bethea|June 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Then I went back and let that hellish fluid out of the pool, and turning on all the water, washed the marble clean of every drop.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the Show|Robert W. Chambers|February 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST

You paint the world in hellish colors and then offer yourself or your program as a savior.
Sunday Q&A: Josef Joffe on the Myth of American Decline|Michael Moynihan|November 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST
At any moment he expected to hear a hellish bedlam break loose—the beginning of the mutiny.
In the Orbit of Saturn|Roman Frederick Starzl
Great is the British Navy, magnificent are its officers and men, but hellish was the work of "forcing the Dardanelles."
Trooper Bluegum at the Dardanelles|Oliver Hogue
Remembering what you once were, your pastimes and love of luxury, this seems as hellish a place and existence as even you deserve.
The Place Beyond the Winds|Harriet T. Comstock
It was light enough for Tommy to see the face of the ruler of the hellish swarm.
Astounding Stories of Super-Science January 1930|Victor Rousseau
"It's this hellish heat," he asserted, lifting her to the bed.
Cytherea|Joseph Hergesheimer

British Dictionary definitions for hellish

hellish

/ (ˈhɛlɪʃ) /

adjective

of or resembling hell

wicked; cruel

informal very difficult or unpleasant

adverb

British informal (intensifier)a hellish good idea

Derived Forms

hellishly, adverbhellishness, noun

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