hellscape
noun
hell·scape
ˈhel-ˌskāp 
plural hellscapes
: a hellish landscape : a harshly unpleasant place or environment
I blame growing up in Southern California—this did not prepare me for real winter, much less the frigid hellscape that is New York in January.—
Aliza Arbabanel
Aliza ArbabanelMeanwhile, it's heartbreaking to see Route 33, once called out by Jalopnik as "America's greatest driving road," reduced to this horrifying hellscape. And, of course, to think about all the nearby people and animals and communities being inundated with fire and smoke.—Andrew P. Collins
Andrew P. CollinsExamples of hellscape in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Seresin sees these declarations as performance, which isn’t quite fair; dating can be a hellscape, and sexist expectations don’t help.
—Lily Meyer, The Atlantic, 26 Feb. 2026
Now that citizens can stare dumbfounded into the same distracting bright lights (and gambling gateways) via ever-present screens, the whole of the United States has essentially transformed into the hellscape once confined to Nevada’s southern tip.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 20 Feb. 2026
As a small rural settlement is swiftly and ruthlessly stripped bare by the twin plagues of a diphtheria epidemic and spreading wildfires, the film eventually descends into a near-literal hellscape, though even when pandemonium takes over on screen, Van Dusen’s formal control never wavers.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 13 Feb. 2026
Ian Frazier About 26 billion chickens occupy Earth, but apart from the lucky ones in backyards, most are condemned to the hellscape that is industrial farming.
—Ricardo Reis, The New York Review of Books, 24 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hellscape
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Lily Meyer, The Atlantic, 26 Feb. 2026
Now that citizens can stare dumbfounded into the same distracting bright lights (and gambling gateways) via ever-present screens, the whole of the United States has essentially transformed into the hellscape once confined to Nevada’s southern tip.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 20 Feb. 2026
As a small rural settlement is swiftly and ruthlessly stripped bare by the twin plagues of a diphtheria epidemic and spreading wildfires, the film eventually descends into a near-literal hellscape, though even when pandemonium takes over on screen, Van Dusen’s formal control never wavers.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 13 Feb. 2026
Ian Frazier About 26 billion chickens occupy Earth, but apart from the lucky ones in backyards, most are condemned to the hellscape that is industrial farming.
—Ricardo Reis, The New York Review of Books, 24 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hellscape
Cite this Entry
“Hellscape.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hellscape. Accessed 7 Mar. 2026.
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