as in horrible
of, resembling, or befitting hell
We've been having hellish weather lately. The battlefield was a hellish scene of death and destruction.
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Recent Examples of hellish
But there are also surreal, haunting touches – a pair of boots nailed to a tree; a dead man's return; a hellish horizon in flames – that show the past's grip on the imagination.
—
David Morgan, CBS News, 15 Mar. 2026
That’s where development became kind of a hellish thing for me and Ryan.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 12 Mar. 2026
The hellish scenes in Tehran were emblematic of the direct link between this war, energy infrastructure and global markets.
—Alexander Smith, NBC news, 9 Mar. 2026
The news site Deadspin took clips of different anchors intoning the same words and laid them over one another to make a hellish cacophony.
—Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hellish
David Morgan, CBS News, 15 Mar. 2026
That’s where development became kind of a hellish thing for me and Ryan.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 12 Mar. 2026
The hellish scenes in Tehran were emblematic of the direct link between this war, energy infrastructure and global markets.
—Alexander Smith, NBC news, 9 Mar. 2026
The news site Deadspin took clips of different anchors intoning the same words and laid them over one another to make a hellish cacophony.
—Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hellish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hellish
Adjective
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Italy has not been of any help to us and Spain has been horrible.—
Rebecca Schneid,
Time,
3 May 2026
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Aston Villa 1-1 Tottenham Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest Again, this is horrible scheduling on a Bank Holiday Monday afternoon, three days before Forest go to Villa for the second leg of that Europa League semi-final.—
Oliver Kay,
New York Times,
1 May 2026
Adjective
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And there was going to be an awful lot of emotional resonance and relatability with today’s generation of young women with Mary Bennet, more so than there would be [with Elizabeth Bennet.—
K.J. Yossman,
Variety,
7 May 2026
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The mother-haver at Forster’s school could never trust in the safety of his awful secret.—
Jessica Winter,
New Yorker,
7 May 2026
Adjective
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And that sounds like a dreadful way to live, friend.—
Kristen Arnett,
Literary Hub,
7 May 2026
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Bogaerts has with the Padres generally excelled in the season’s latter months and been dreadful in the early months.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 May 2026
Adjective
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The two hideous games between the Lakers and Rockets will likely come to mind relatively quickly, but the trend has been greater than just one series.—
John Hollinger,
New York Times,
23 Apr. 2026
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Such is a snarky line that Emily Blunt delivers as Emily Charlton in The Devil Wears Prada, a character who would rather faint than wear something hideous.—
Christian Allaire,
Vogue,
21 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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But a radioactive cloud was wafting across Europe, setting off alarms in a Swedish laboratory nearly seven hundred miles away and slowly sickening tens of thousands of people.—
Lizzie Johnson,
New Yorker,
25 Apr. 2026
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That flight had twice aborted takeoff and declared an emergency due to an odor onboard that was sickening flight attendants.—
Aaron Cooper,
CNN Money,
23 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Something shocking happens on Jeon-Gi’s last day at the camp.—
Cressida Leyshon,
New Yorker,
3 May 2026
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Incredibly shocking moment in the run-up to the race as Great White is scratched.—
Kyle Feldscher,
CNN Money,
2 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hellish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hellish. Accessed 8 May. 2026.
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