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
-
Linda Cardellini offers up a killer breakdown to the roaring chorus of the lawn guy’s infernal leaf blower.—
Andy Andersen,
Vulture,
23 Mar. 2026
-
La Fontaine’s fable runs to 44 lines; after the infernal prologue, the remaining 40 sketch the fortunes of Hell’s two daughters.—
Jan Steyn,
The Dial,
10 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
One tweet features an AI cover of a fake Slayr album called BURGERMAN that imagines him as a half-burger, half-human hybrid engulfed in a hellish flood of grease and cheese splatter.—
Kieran Press-Reynolds,
Pitchfork,
8 May 2026
-
The titular vampire gang has formed a band, and when its members start to shred, the stage sinks down to create a mosh pit—a hellish underworld into which victims later drop.—
Emily Nussbaum,
New Yorker,
30 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Neither rocky with a thick hydrogen atmosphere nor an ocean world, L 98-59 d might occupy a new class of molten, sulfurous exoplanet, according to a study in Nature Astronomy.—
K. R. Callaway,
Scientific American,
11 May 2026
-
Garlic and Shallots Garlic and shallots also emit strong, sulfurous odors effective against a wider range of insect pests including aphids, mites, caterpillars, armyworms, moths, beetles, and whiteflies.—
Barbara Gillette,
The Spruce,
3 May 2026
Adjective
-
As earthly circles of hell go, modern-day Newark is in an altogether different, gentler category from post-WWII Leningrad.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
13 May 2026
-
Divinity above, earthly pleasures below.—
Ligaya Mishan,
New York Times,
11 May 2026
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 16 May. 2026.
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