inferno

American  

[in-fur-noh, een-fer-naw] / ɪnˈfɜr noʊ, inˈfɛr nɔ /

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.

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inferno British  

/ ɪnˈfɜːnəʊ /

noun

1. (sometimes capital) hell; the infernal region

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

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Inferno Cultural  

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

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Discover More

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

Etymology

Origin of inferno

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

Example Sentences

Among them: Why were crews ordered to leave the still-smoldering scar of an earlier blaze that would reignite into the Palisades inferno?

From Los Angeles Times

The researchers suggest that this buried "spark of water" may have been a decisive factor in turning Earth from a molten inferno into the blue, life-friendly planet we know today.

From Science Daily

The tool from the governor’s office and the public-private LA Rises wildfire recovery initiative comes nearly a year after the January inferno.

From Los Angeles Times

A reference to that unchecked brushfire, which later sparked the inferno, was deleted from one draft, then restored in the final version.

From Los Angeles Times

The inferno all but destroyed one campus, which has relocated, and the other sustained smoke damage and later reopened.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• purgatory