variants
also chthonian
as in infernal
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Recent Examples of chthonic
That’s because the Greeks distinguished between Olympian gods, who lived on Mt. Olympus, and chthonic gods, who lived in the underworld.
—
Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 20 Jan. 2025
But Lloyd is less interested in the specifics of either work than in the chthonic rage underneath.
—Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2024
And no one suffers quite like the True Believer; surrendering to optimism is an invitation for chthonic forces to start doling out a whole lot of emotional rump puntings.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 16 Aug. 2024
Before the backdrop of a magmatic cavern stand three adventurers: a warrior, a mage, and a trickster who, with a roll of the dice, are preparing to defeat a tentacled chthonic beast.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 14 May 2024
Like the first game, Hades II puts you in the role of a child of Hades who, with the aid of their extended family of Olympic gods, chthonic figures, and lesser deities, must face a never-ending gauntlet to escape the realm to which they’re bound.
—Nikki McCann Ramirez, Rolling Stone, 9 May 2024
Hades and Persephone are chthonic deities, and the word can also be used more poetically to describe something dark and deathly, with a sinister power.
—Frances Vinall, Washington Post, 2 June 2023
Along with enduring anxious nights underground during aerial warfare, each is shown in his own way to have drawn on more transcendent themes, namely the chthonic mysteries of the English landscape and the polymorphous eroticism of the nude human body.
—Richard B. Woodward, WSJ, 3 Dec. 2022
Alex Garland’s latest feature, Men, is a sinister descent into a chthonic nightmare world disguised as a posh English country estate — where ancient forces engage in violent cycles of death and rebirth.
—Katie Rife, Vulture, 20 May 2022
Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 20 Jan. 2025
But Lloyd is less interested in the specifics of either work than in the chthonic rage underneath.
—Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2024
And no one suffers quite like the True Believer; surrendering to optimism is an invitation for chthonic forces to start doling out a whole lot of emotional rump puntings.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 16 Aug. 2024
Before the backdrop of a magmatic cavern stand three adventurers: a warrior, a mage, and a trickster who, with a roll of the dice, are preparing to defeat a tentacled chthonic beast.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 14 May 2024
Like the first game, Hades II puts you in the role of a child of Hades who, with the aid of their extended family of Olympic gods, chthonic figures, and lesser deities, must face a never-ending gauntlet to escape the realm to which they’re bound.
—Nikki McCann Ramirez, Rolling Stone, 9 May 2024
Hades and Persephone are chthonic deities, and the word can also be used more poetically to describe something dark and deathly, with a sinister power.
—Frances Vinall, Washington Post, 2 June 2023
Along with enduring anxious nights underground during aerial warfare, each is shown in his own way to have drawn on more transcendent themes, namely the chthonic mysteries of the English landscape and the polymorphous eroticism of the nude human body.
—Richard B. Woodward, WSJ, 3 Dec. 2022
Alex Garland’s latest feature, Men, is a sinister descent into a chthonic nightmare world disguised as a posh English country estate — where ancient forces engage in violent cycles of death and rebirth.
—Katie Rife, Vulture, 20 May 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chthonic
Adjective
-
With a wink and a knowing smile, Hermes (Sarah Taylor) guides the audience through a realm of stark contrasts, from the ominous storms of the world above to the infernal heat of Hadestown.—
News Release,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
29 Mar. 2025
-
Another flash shot: Uncle Fred standing behind her in his infernal boots, mummified in white menstrual products—and Shula wakes up.—
Namwali Serpell,
The New Yorker,
25 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Boston's hellish housing market could soon get even trickier to navigate.—
Steph Solis,
Axios,
1 Apr. 2025
-
During the hellish month preceding his murder, the boy was also denied his prescription medications, jurors heard at the trial.—
Molly Crane-Newman,
New York Daily News,
24 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
By 1990, bootleg versions of the book had washed up for sale in the pages of far-right magazines, peddled alongside sulfurous predictions of American concentration camps and a helpful who’s who of global elitists.—
Dan Piepenbring,
Harper's Magazine,
19 Feb. 2025
-
Concerts have taken place in a pineapple greenhouse, a tea factory, and even a geothermal bath, where 800 attendees soaked in sulfurous yellow water while listening to the ethereal electro-pop of Basque singer-songwriter Verde Prato.—
Philip Sherburne,
Condé Nast Traveler,
17 Aug. 2024
Adjective
-
The clipping of grape bunches off the vines created a rhythm as if the harvesters performing these acts had synchronized a symphony of earthly beauty.—
Cathrine Todd,
Forbes.com,
4 Apr. 2025
-
This is the most believably lusty delivery by John of lyrics about Taupin’s earthly urges.—
Shana Naomi Krochmal,
Vulture,
4 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
The morning of April 1, 1976, Moore announced on a BBC radio station that at 9:47 am, Pluto would pass behind Jupiter, creating the Jovian-Plutonian Gravitational Effect.—
National Geographic,
National Geographic,
31 Mar. 2016
-
His most recent discoveries, the two tiny Plutonian satellites, were named with the help of a popular vote.—
Nadia Drake,
WIRED,
15 July 2013
Cite this Entry
“Chthonic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chthonic. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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