hellish

[hel-ish]

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.

Origin of hellish

First recorded in 1520–30; hell + -ish¹

Related formshell·ish·ly, adverbhell·ish·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for hellish

Contemporary Examples

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
From Ferguson to Gaza to Iraq, this summer has been hellish.
Summer 2014 Was the Worst Ever
Dean Obeidallah
August 29, 2014
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
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
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

Historical Examples

Were they building their city from the sand of the desert, these hellish glaciers?
Spawn of the Comet
Harold Thompson Rich
After some minutes of the hellish tumult she had asked to see the Director.
The Eternal City
Hall Caine
Above her head was the roar of tempest, and the vivid, hellish light of the storm.
The Golden Woman
Ridgwell Cullum
Others in the cutter had noted the incident of the hellish fight.
Graham's Magazine Vol XXXII No. 1 January 1848
Various
And do you know what I've been doing during all this hellish period?
Astounding Stories of Super-Science, May, 1930
Various

British Dictionary definitions for hellish

hellish

adjective

of or resembling hell
wicked; cruel
informal very difficult or unpleasant

adverb

British informal (intensifier)a hellish good idea

Derived Formshellishly, 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

Word Origin and History for hellish

adj.

1520s, from hell + -ish. Related: Hellishly; hellishness. Earlier in same sense were helli "helly" (late 12c.); hellen "hellish, infernal" (c.1200), with -en (2); and Old English hellic.

hellish

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}hellish

Examples from the Web for hellish

Contemporary Examples

But there is much to be said for a private, hellish experience becoming an issue of public debate.

From Ferguson to Gaza to Iraq, this summer has been hellish.

He was finally released in 2004, after almost 40 hellish years of brutal internment.

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.

You paint the world in hellish colors and then offer yourself or your program as a savior.

Historical Examples

Were they building their city from the sand of the desert, these hellish glaciers?

After some minutes of the hellish tumult she had asked to see the Director.

Above her head was the roar of tempest, and the vivid, hellish light of the storm.

Others in the cutter had noted the incident of the hellish fight.

And do you know what I've been doing during all this hellish period?

hellish

Word Origin and History for hellish

adj.

Origin of hellish