hellish

hell·ish
H4E1L1L1I1S1H4
US, UK/ˈhɛlɪʃ/

adjective

infernal, related or similar to hell.

“I woke up from a hellish noise coming from the house next door.”

Similar
hellystygianAcheronticinfernalHadeanPlutonicPlutoniansubtartarean
Opposite
heavenly
OriginEnglish hell ← Middle English helle ← Old English hell →
Less commonScrabble 13
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Meanings

adjectivehellish (comparative more hellish, superlative most hellish)

comparative more hellish · superlative most hellish

  1. infernal, related or similar to hell.

    Fauſtus is gone, regard his helliſh fall, / Whoſe fiendful fortune may exhort the wiſe, / Onely to wonder at vnlawful things, […]

    1589–1592 (date written), Ch[ristopher] Marl[owe], The Tragicall History of D. Faustus. […], London: […] V[alentine] S[immes] for Thomas Bushell, published 1604, →OCLC, signature [F3], recto

    Synonyms: helly, stygian, Acherontic, infernal, Hadean, helly, Plutonic, Plutonian · Antonyms: heavenly

  2. excessivecausing great pain, discomfort or distress.

    I woke up from a hellish noise coming from the house next door.

    Synonyms: awful, horrible, infernal, nightmarish, terrible, agonizing, ailsome, excruciating · Antonyms: heavenly

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveinfernal, related or similar to hell.

Similar
hellystygianAcheronticinfernalHadeanhellyPlutonicPlutonianstygiansubtartareanTartarean
Opposite
heavenly

adjectivecausing great pain, discomfort or distress.

Similar
awfulhorribleinfernalnightmarishterribleagonizingailsomeexcruciatinggroanfulhurtfulbruisingpainablepainfulterribletormentingtormentoustorturousunpleasantwrenchful
Opposite
heavenly

More synonyms by meaning

adjective(informal) very unpleasant

Similar
beastlygod-awfulunpleasant

adjectiveextremely evil or cruel; expressive of cruelty or befitting hell

Similar
demonicdiabolicdiabolicalfiendishinfernalsatanicunholyevil
Also see
acheronticagonizingailsomebadbeastlydemonicdevilishdiabolicdiabolicalfiendishgod-awfulhadeanhellyinfernalpainablepainfulplutonianplutonicsatanicstygiansubtartareantartareantormentuousunholyunpleasant

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ḱel-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ḱel-yo- /*ḱol-yeh₂-der.?
  3. Proto-Germanic*haljō
  4. Proto-West Germanic*hallju
  5. Old Englishhell
  6. Middle Englishhelle
  7. Englishhell
  8. Englishhellish

From hell + -ish.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic جَحِيمِيّ, جَهَنَّمِيّ
  • جَحِيمِيّ (jaḥīmiyy)causing pain, discomfort or distress
  • جَهَنَّمِيّ (jahannamiyy)causing pain, discomfort or distress
Bulgarian а́дски, пъ́клен
  • а́дски (ádski)causing pain, discomfort or distress
  • пъ́клен (pắklen)causing pain, discomfort or distress
Czech pekelný
  • pekelnýcausing pain, discomfort or distress
Danish helvedes, infernalsk
  • helvedescausing pain, discomfort or distress
  • infernalskcausing pain, discomfort or distress
Dutch hels
  • helscausing pain, discomfort or distress
Finnish helvetillinen
  • helvetillinencausing pain, discomfort or distress
French infernal
  • infernalcausing pain, discomfort or distress
German höllisch
  • höllischcausing pain, discomfort or distress
Italian infernale
  • infernalecausing pain, discomfort or distress
Norwegian Bokmål helvetes, infernalsk
  • helvetescausing pain, discomfort or distress
  • infernalskcausing pain, discomfort or distress
Polish piekielny
  • piekielnycausing pain, discomfort or distress
Portuguese infernal
  • infernalcausing pain, discomfort or distress
Romanian infernal
  • infernalcausing pain, discomfort or distress
Russian а́дский, а́довый
  • а́дский (ádskij)causing pain, discomfort or distress
  • а́довый (ádovyj)causing pain, discomfort or distress
Slovak pekelný
  • pekelnýcausing pain, discomfort or distress
Spanish infernal
  • infernalcausing pain, discomfort or distress
Swedish helvetisk, infernalisk
  • helvetiskcausing pain, discomfort or distress
  • infernaliskcausing pain, discomfort or distress
Ukrainian пеке́льний
  • пеке́льний (pekélʹnyj)causing pain, discomfort or distress
Urdu جَہَنَّمی
  • جَہَنَّمی (jahannamī)causing pain, discomfort or distress

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with hellish

relish
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

hellish. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hellish

MLA

“hellish.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hellish. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hellish,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hellish.

Source: hellish on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.