Tartarus

American  

[tahr-ter-uhs] / ˈtɑr tər əs /

noun

Classical Mythology.

1. a sunless abyss, below Hades, in which Zeus imprisoned the Titans.

2. a place in Hades for the punishment of the wicked.

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Tartarus British  

/ ˈtɑːtərəs /

noun

1. an abyss under Hades where the Titans were imprisoned

2. a part of Hades reserved for evildoers

3. the underworld; Hades

4. a primordial god who became the father of the monster Typhon

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Etymology

Origin of Tartarus

C16: from Latin, from Greek Tartaros, of obscure origin

Example Sentences

Exoplanet hunters have caught sight of a multitude of Earth- and Venus-size worlds far from our galactic backwater, each of them an Elysium or a Tartarus.

From Scientific American • Jun. 2, 2021

Both these handsome volumes — from Tartarus Press — are suffused with that air of mystery, transgression and foreboding one associates with continental literature and film during the 1920s and ’30s.

From Washington Post • Aug. 14, 2019

Or that the Tartars, the nomadic groups that helped Genghis Khan spread his empire, took their name from Tartarus, the lowest part of hell?

From Washington Post • Apr. 20, 2017

The rounded mountains, quite different from those we know on Earth, are named Tartarus Dorsa.

From Textbooks • Oct. 13, 2016

Annabeth couldn’t imagine what those words meant in Tartarus.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan