inferno

[in-fur-noh, een-fer-naw]

noun

plural

infernos 

1. hell; the infernal regions.

2. a place or region that resembles hell.

   The ironworks was an inferno of molten steel and half-naked bodies.

   Synonyms: oven, hellhole, furnace

3. (initial capital letter, italics),  the first part of Dante's Divine Comedy, depicting hell and the suffering of the damned.

inferno

/ ɪnˈfɜːnəʊ /

noun

1. (sometimes capital) hell; the infernal region

2. any place or state resembling hell, esp a conflagration

Inferno

1. The first section of The Divine Comedy, by Dante. Inferno is the Italian word for “hell.”

By extension, an “inferno” is a hot and terrible place or condition.

Word History and Origins

Origin of inferno¹

1825–35; < Italian < Late Latin infernus hell, noun use of Latin infernus; infernal

Word History and Origins

Origin of inferno¹

C19: from Italian, from Late Latin infernus hell

Related Words

• purgatory