hellion
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of hellion
1835–45, hell + -ion, as in scullion, rapscallion
Explanation
A hellion is someone who makes mischief or gets into trouble. You might refer to the kids you babysit as a bunch of hellions if they regularly refuse to go to bed, instead staging massive pillow fights. Hellion almost always describes a young person, often a child, who raises a ruckus or makes trouble in some rowdy way. The little boy next door might have most people fooled into thinking he's an angel, but you'll know he's a hellion when you spot him jumping off the roof into a pile of snow or putting firecrackers in your mailbox. Hellion is an American word, inspired by the Scottish hallion, or "scamp."
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.
A little hellion, according to her own description, she was not adopted even after her picture and profile were featured as a child needing a forever home in The Seattle Times.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 27, 2021
My younger kid, Dan, was a bit of a hellion, who, classically, Resisted Authority.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 18, 2021
The great Gurley, the hurdling hellion, just two seasons after being named NFL offensive player of the year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2020
So he agrees to take her, even though she is a hellion at the start.
From New York Times ● Oct. 12, 2016
No doubt she was scolding my little hellion.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
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.
