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

Explanation

An inferno is a huge fire that's difficult to control, like an inferno that burns down a whole city block. Inferno also can describe any horrible place where people suffer. The Latin word infernus means "of the lower regions." Using inferno to mean "hell" is credited to medieval Italian poet Dante Alighieri. Dante's epic poem the Divine Comedy contains one part titled The Inferno, which tells of a journey through the nine circles of hell full of torture, pain, and imagery of red — flames, boiling blood, and so on.

Example Sentences

Prosecutors say the inferno destroyed the 1.2 million square-foot warehouse and the paper products inside, resulting in $500 million in damages.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2026

The inferno swept through seven of the estate's eight towers, which were under renovation and wrapped in bamboo scaffolding, netting and foam boards -- materials that may have accelerated the spread of flames.

From Barron's • Mar. 24, 2026

BBC Scotland staff at the scene described seeing the dome on the corner of the building falling in during the inferno.

From BBC • Mar. 8, 2026

Times investigations uncovered the alert failure in January of last year, and later found that almost no fire trucks were in that side of the community as the inferno raged through.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 22, 2026

They had no tools to stanch a fire, and no plan at all for what they might do to put out a chemical inferno.

From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers

Related Words

• purgatory