as in horrible
of, resembling, or befitting hell
We've been having hellish weather lately. The battlefield was a hellish scene of death and destruction.
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Recent Examples of hellish
That’s where development became kind of a hellish thing for me and Ryan.
—
Matt Grobar, Deadline, 12 Mar. 2026
The hellish scenes in Tehran were emblematic of the direct link between this war, energy infrastructure and global markets.
—Alexander Smith, NBC news, 9 Mar. 2026
The news site Deadspin took clips of different anchors intoning the same words and laid them over one another to make a hellish cacophony.
—Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2026
Finding the beauty in that hellish croak — something that Josh Groban was able to do in the last Broadway revival — can prove exceptionally difficult.
—Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 3 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hellish
Matt Grobar, Deadline, 12 Mar. 2026
The hellish scenes in Tehran were emblematic of the direct link between this war, energy infrastructure and global markets.
—Alexander Smith, NBC news, 9 Mar. 2026
The news site Deadspin took clips of different anchors intoning the same words and laid them over one another to make a hellish cacophony.
—Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2026
Finding the beauty in that hellish croak — something that Josh Groban was able to do in the last Broadway revival — can prove exceptionally difficult.
—Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 3 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hellish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hellish
Adjective
-
In the case of this April 1, Atlanta just experienced a horrible and tragic Wednesday in traffic.—
Doug Turnbull,
AJC.com,
12 Apr. 2026
-
Your cabdriver is taking you on a horrible route.—
Zach Schiffman,
Curbed,
10 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The par 3 celebrity caddie idea is awful.—
Kait Hanson,
Southern Living,
13 Apr. 2026
-
That's going to be awful difficult!—
Ashley Velie,
CBS News,
12 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
What’s particularly impressed management lately is how Couturier, who went through a dreadful 31-game goal drought earlier, has bought into his new role on the fourth line.—
Kevin Kurz,
New York Times,
9 Apr. 2026
-
Unpacking wet and muddy gear at the end is always the most dreadful part of the whole trip.—
Olivia Young,
Travel + Leisure,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Car launches are generally ghastly events, and this was way down there with the most hideous… and perhaps gave a clue as to why VW struggles to match its huge European sales success in America.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
10 Apr. 2026
-
The hideous prospect of interviewing for jobs even more pointless than this one appears before me.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
In a sickening moment broadcast live after Boyes’s shot missed, Long moved quickly about, shooting many hostages.—
Graham Womack,
Sacbee.com,
3 Apr. 2026
-
The feds also looked over Bied’s sickening business partnership with his co-conspirator in Indonesia, who Bied purchased multiple orangutan and Javan leopard skulls from.—
Tim Dunn,
Boston Herald,
3 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Zendaya and Robert Pattinson star in Kristoffer Borgli’s rug-pull rom-com, which follows a soon-to-be-married couple whose relationship implodes after a shocking revelation.—
Jack Dunn,
Variety,
11 Apr. 2026
-
The series abruptly concluded with Lois' shocking pregnancy news and Malcolm just starting his freshman year at Harvard.—
Samantha Stutsman,
PEOPLE,
10 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hellish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hellish. Accessed 19 Apr. 2026.
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