1
as in nightmare
a situation or state that causes great suffering and unhappiness
the depression that has enshrouded her since the death of her husband is a Gehenna from which she may never be released
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in hell
the place of punishment for the wicked after death
in a fire-and-brimstone sermon, the evangelist warned those assembled that they faced the fires of Gehenna if they failed to repent
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for Gehenna
Noun
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In the ‘Groundhog Day’-esque nightmare that never ends, the ‘urgent’ and ‘engaged’ Boston Red Sox are up a creek without a paddle, vessel, and excuse, having lost out on a top – and very sign-able – free-agent target once again.—
Gabrielle Starr,
Boston Herald,
12 Jan. 2026 -
This artistic decision shifts the focus from the battlefield to the psychological and bureaucratic nightmare faced by those desperately trying to orchestrate a rescue from hundreds of miles away.—
Robert Lang,
Deadline,
11 Jan. 2026
Noun
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They were doomed to perish in the fires of hell.—
Emily Blackwood,
PEOPLE,
10 Jan. 2026
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Shown with a gun in hand and looking disheveled, Creasy seems like he’s been through hell and back.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
7 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The dramatic arc of the film’s first half — filled with the ecstasy of God’s embrace and the agony of imprisonment — is told through musical numbers, adapted from the Shakers’ ecstatic worship, dance, hymns, and music (watch the video above to learn more).—
Chris O'Falt,
IndieWire,
7 Jan. 2026
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One year before Ingri and Edgar Parin D’Aulaire published their compendium of Greek myths, Cicellis released her second work of fiction, The Way to Colonos, which ruthlessly dramatizes the limits of individual freedom and the agony of facing one’s powerlessness.—
Rachel Vorona Cote,
The Atlantic,
5 Jan. 2026
Noun
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But the inferno nevertheless destroyed the homes of his son and daughter, who are 26 and 29.—
David Zahniser,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Jan. 2026
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The Los Angeles Fire Department made the decision to physically move the command post down Pacific Coast Highway and away from the Palisades because the inferno threatened to overtake their location.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Even so, a few things about this season’s ongoing torment are clear.—
Katherine J. Wu,
The Atlantic,
10 Jan. 2026
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Here, Seyfried captures the inner conflict of Ann Lee’s torment and trauma along with the ecstatic release of her religious practice.—
Mark Olsen,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Jan. 2026
Noun
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One day, to break away from his misery, the narrator goes on a hike.—
Amir Ahmadi Arian,
The Dial,
15 Jan. 2026
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The dynasty set an unfathomably high bar, but Rose’s Bulls are the blip of hope in a long line of misery since.—
The Athletic NBA Staff,
New York Times,
13 Jan. 2026
Noun
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To our minds, Wednesday's horror, those kids who lost a mother, should supplant the inevitable circling of the ideological wagons and the parsing of the different angles of pictures taken at the scene.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
10 Jan. 2026
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But the harder the novice looks — and the greater the chaos inside them longing for order, even of a diabolical nature — the more clearly the horror will appear.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
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This is likewise the thrust of Salò, based on the Marquis de Sade’s The 120 Days of Sodom, an orgiastic, disturbing carnival of torture, rape, and killing, reset by Pasolini in the town from which fascism reigned in the 1940s.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Jan. 2026
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Marcano Tábata is widely identified by human rights groups as part of the command structure overseeing detention centers where political prisoners have been held, including facilities accused of systematic abuse and torture.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
6 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Gehenna.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Gehenna. Accessed 17 Jan. 2026.
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