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

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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

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for Gehenna
Noun
  • Fallibility is written into our genetic code, and refereeing is basically a nightmare now for everyone involved.
    Megan Feringa, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2025
  • But more than just a topical procedural thriller, the film also plays out like a Kafka novel about endless invasions of privacy and assumptions of malicious intent that converge to form a modern nightmare.
    Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 7 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • The Shea Moisture Define & Shine Edge Gel slicks my edges back without snatching them to hell.
    Kayla Greaves, Essence, 6 Nov. 2025
  • That's hell for a kid to see that.
    Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 5 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • Following months of agony and fundraising, Abeba was eventually able to send enough money to pay for her brother Daniel’s release.
    Mick Krever, CNN Money, 6 Nov. 2025
  • Near those boundaries, microscopic changes in pace or line flip the result, explaining why near-identical putts can alternate between agony and ecstasy.
    Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • Spoelstra was remarkably upbeat before the game, offering gratitude for the outpouring of support from the NBA community and expressing relief that nobody was injured in the inferno.
    Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 8 Nov. 2025
  • After it was revealed that Vince didn't make it out of the inferno, his son Bode (Max Thieriot) and wife Sharon (Diane Farr) were devastated by the loss.
    Christopher Rudolph, PEOPLE, 7 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • Scream With Me expands on this argument with its analysis of The Exorcist, a movie that Johnson interprets as a parable about physical abuse; its male demon torments and beats a single working mother and her child.
    Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 30 Oct. 2025
  • Jeremy Allen White, who always seems to do inchoate torment so well, makes a fine Springsteen.
    Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Mamdani, 34, is a charismatic socialist who has limited experience in the private sector and seems utterly unconcerned about his guiding philosophy’s long track record of creating misery.
    Editorial, Boston Herald, 8 Nov. 2025
  • Beyond the outright annihilation of people and the considerable trauma that brought onto people, leftist regimes inflicted considerable misery in myriad other ways.
    Sal Rodriguez, Oc Register, 7 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • The green Christmas light blinks in horror.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 7 Nov. 2025
  • The video teaser Chrli shared features eerie, horror film–like sound effects and the haunting sound of violins as Charli is pinned down by an elderly hand while staring directly into the camera.
    Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 6 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • Horrific torture videos are currently circulating on social media — and being sent to families around the world.
    Alexandra Banner, CNN Money, 6 Nov. 2025
  • The overwhelming majority of experts dispute that torture actually works as an interrogation technique, arguing that any information that comes out of it is unreliable as people under duress will say anything needed to convince their torturers to stop.
    Ellen Mitchell, The Hill, 5 Nov. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Gehenna.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Gehenna. Accessed 16 Nov. 2025.

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