hellish
Americanadjective
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of, like, or suitable to hell; infernal; vile; horrible.
It was a hellish war.
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miserable; abominable; execrable.
We had a hellish time getting through traffic.
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devilishly bad.
The child's behavior was hellish most of the day.
adjective
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of or resembling hell
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wicked; cruel
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informal very difficult or unpleasant
adverb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of hellish
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.
Many youth—not just those who have had the grave misfortune of being arrested and stuck in hellish immigration detention centers—are intently watching these interactions and wondering what’s next for them.
From Slate • Apr. 27, 2026
So this time around, after a hellish year for myself, and frankly, the entire country, I decided Vitamin D was a requirement: I needed to go somewhere warm.
From Salon • Feb. 2, 2026
I’ve been doing daily art journalism for 45 years — 36 of them at The Times, with 2,195 bylines — so I’m about to find out whether this quitting will also be hellish.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 1, 2025
Sections of charred scaffolding fell from the burning apartment blocks in hellish scenes late on Wednesday, as flames inside apartments sometimes belched out through windows into a night sky that glowed orange.
From Barron's • Nov. 27, 2025
The hellish whistle could be heard gradually disappearing in the distance.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
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.
