variants
also chthonian
as in infernal
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Recent Examples of chthonic
Aeacus, a judge of the dead, and Thanatos, winged daemon of death, are chthonic.
—
Lewis Hyde, Harpers Magazine, 18 June 2025
That’s because the Greeks distinguished between Olympian gods, who lived on Mt. Olympus, and chthonic gods, who lived in the underworld.
—Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 20 Jan. 2025
But Lloyd is less interested in the specifics of either work than in the chthonic rage underneath.
—Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2024
And no one suffers quite like the True Believer; surrendering to optimism is an invitation for chthonic forces to start doling out a whole lot of emotional rump puntings.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 16 Aug. 2024
Before the backdrop of a magmatic cavern stand three adventurers: a warrior, a mage, and a trickster who, with a roll of the dice, are preparing to defeat a tentacled chthonic beast.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 14 May 2024
Lewis Hyde, Harpers Magazine, 18 June 2025
That’s because the Greeks distinguished between Olympian gods, who lived on Mt. Olympus, and chthonic gods, who lived in the underworld.
—Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 20 Jan. 2025
But Lloyd is less interested in the specifics of either work than in the chthonic rage underneath.
—Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2024
And no one suffers quite like the True Believer; surrendering to optimism is an invitation for chthonic forces to start doling out a whole lot of emotional rump puntings.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 16 Aug. 2024
Before the backdrop of a magmatic cavern stand three adventurers: a warrior, a mage, and a trickster who, with a roll of the dice, are preparing to defeat a tentacled chthonic beast.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 14 May 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chthonic
Adjective
-
Mephistopheles, dispatched by the Devil to serve Faustus, can’t help getting the better of his mortal master, like an infernal Jeeves—or, more to the point, like a handler in the intelligence racket, running an anxious agent in the field.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
-
As a brand, Annabelle’s infernal power knows no limits.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Well, that hellish censorious atmosphere didn’t last long.—
Newsweek Contributors,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Sep. 2025
-
The letter also lifted the lid on some of the hellish conditions at MDC Brooklyn, where Combs has been since last September.—
Madeleine Marr,
Miami Herald,
23 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Reaction fronts were enriched with iron, phosphorous, and sulfurous compounds.—
Ethan Siegel,
Big Think,
15 Sep. 2025
-
Ours is a geography of cataclysm: Santa Anas wreak their psychic wrath; the odor of disaster seeps from the street like that sulfurous egg smell of the La Brea Tar Pits.—
John Lopez,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Scholars intuited a link between the celestial and earthly multitudes.—
Greg Grandin
September 23,
Literary Hub,
23 Sep. 2025
-
Though his earthly life has ended, his witness cannot be silenced.—
N'dea Yancey-Bragg,
IndyStar,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The morning of April 1, 1976, Moore announced on a BBC radio station that at 9:47 am, Pluto would pass behind Jupiter, creating the Jovian-Plutonian Gravitational Effect.—
National Geographic,
National Geographic,
31 Mar. 2016
-
His most recent discoveries, the two tiny Plutonian satellites, were named with the help of a popular vote.—
Nadia Drake,
WIRED,
15 July 2013
Cite this Entry
“Chthonic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chthonic. Accessed 29 Sep. 2025.
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