infernal

[ in-fur-nl ]

/ ɪnˈfɜr nl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR infernal ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

hellish; fiendish; diabolical: an infernal plot.

extremely troublesome, annoying, etc.; outrageous: an infernal nuisance.

of, inhabiting, or befitting hell.

Classical Mythology. of or relating to the underworld.

Nearby words

Origin of infernal

1325–75; Middle English < Late Latin infernālis, equivalent to Latin infern(us) situated below, of the underworld (see inferior) + -ālis -al¹

SYNONYMS FOR infernal

2 devilish, cursed, monstrous.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR infernal ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsin·fer·nal·i·ty, nounin·fer·nal·ly, adverb

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

Examples from the Web for infernal

Infernal, it can cause fires and explosions; toxic, it can debilitate, poison, and kill.
The Fiery Underground Oil Pit Eating L.A.|Geoff Manaugh|December 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He called her “a silly chattering windbag, an infernal liar, a conceited, gushing, rump-wagging, blethering ass.”
Gertrude of Arabia, the Woman Who Invented Iraq|Clive Irving|June 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Egypt is eternal, one might say, but its problems are infernal.
Egypt’s Arab Spring Gives Way To Spring Of The Patriarch|Christopher Dickey|January 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That infernal device was much like the ones made from pressure cookers used in Boston.
The Story Behind the Bombers|Christopher Dickey, Eli Lake, Daniel Klaidman|April 19, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Of course there will be deranged people who will rejoice in their weird conviction of his eternal and infernal roasting.
Christopher Hitchens Is Hailed by Stephen Fry as a Man of Style and Wit|Stephen Fry|December 17, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Eleven days were spent in preparation, before the Thirteen, with all their infernal power, could reach the foot of the cliffs.
The Duchesse de Langeais|Honore de Balzac
She 's an infernal bore, sir,—that I know fully as well as you can inform me; but please to tell me who is n't a bore.
The Daltons, Volume II (of II)|Charles James Lever
Why, he must himself belong to this infernal society, as she did; that was it, of course.
The Red Symbol|John Ironside
It was the infernal impertinence of Germany's schemes for transatlantic plunder that roused the average American.
Out To Win|Coningsby Dawson
There was something very awful, too, in the spectre's being provided with an infernal atmosphere of its own.
A Christmas Carol|Charles Dickens

British Dictionary definitions for infernal

infernal

/ (ɪnˈfɜːnəl) /

adjective

of or relating to an underworld of the dead

deserving hell or befitting its occupants; diabolic; fiendish

informal irritating; confounded

Derived Formsinfernality, nouninfernally, adverb

Word Origin for infernal

C14: from Late Latin infernālis, from infernus hell, from Latin (adj): lower, hellish; related to Latin inferus low

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 infernal

infernal

adj.

late 14c., in reference to the underworld, from Old French enfernal, infernal (12c.), from Late Latin infernalis "of the lower regions," from infernus "hell" (Ambrose), literally "the lower (world)," noun use of Latin infernus "lower, lying beneath," from infra "below" (see infra-). Meaning "devilish, hateful" is from early 15c. For the name of the place, or things which resemble it, the Italian form inferno has been used in English since 1834, from Dante. Related: Infernally.

infernal

adjective

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of infernal

Examples from the Web for infernal

British Dictionary definitions for infernal

infernal

adjective

Word Origin for infernal

Word Origin and History for infernal

infernal