hellish

adjective

hell·​ish ˈhe-lish How to pronounce hellish (audio)
: of, resembling, or befitting hell
broadly : terrible
hellishly adverb
hellishness noun

Examples of hellish in a Sentence

We've been having hellish weather lately. The battlefield was a hellish scene of death and destruction.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Markets were in dire need of some calm after a hellish month of tariff chaos that eroded trillions of dollars of value and pushed both the S&P and Nasdaq into official correction territory. Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 19 Mar. 2025 The previously steady couple experiences friction because of the resulting stress, but things take a more hellish turn when everyone discovers the house is haunted by a demon looking for a new host. Vikram Murthi, IndieWire, 13 Mar. 2025 Things have taken a hellish turn for the horror-comedy Hysteria!, which has been cancelled at Peacock after just one season, TVLine has confirmed. Rebecca Luther, TVLine, 4 Feb. 2025 But after a hellish helicopter mission and another spicy roundtable, Brit couldn’t convince Dolores, Ivar and Gabby that Dylan was the one to take a shot at, and she was forced out of the game without revealing her true identity. Nick Caruso, TVLine, 7 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for hellish

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1530, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hellish was circa 1530

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Hellish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hellish. Accessed 4 Apr. 2025.

Kids Definition

hellish

adjective
hell·​ish ˈhel-ish How to pronounce hellish (audio)
: of, resembling, or suitable to hell : infernal
hellishly adverb
hellishness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on hellish

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!