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
Badwater is renowned not just for its distance but for its hellish conditions, with temperatures often soaring above 120 degrees and runners reporting hallucinations, blood blisters and feet swollen three sizes beyond normal.
—
James Rainey
follow, Los Angeles Times, 11 July 2025
Defense attorneys have also long denounced the hellish conditions at the severely understaffed jail, which has seen several fatal stabbings and many violent assaults.
—Emma Seiwell, New York Daily News, 10 July 2025
The crew arrives only to find the hellish torments that have plagued Captain Kilpack and the first crew that disappeared for seven years.
—James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 July 2025
Walking during the middle of the day, however, can be less than utterly hellish if one sticks to the shady side of the street.
—Michael Barnes, Austin American Statesman, 2 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for hellish
James Rainey
follow, Los Angeles Times, 11 July 2025
Defense attorneys have also long denounced the hellish conditions at the severely understaffed jail, which has seen several fatal stabbings and many violent assaults.
—Emma Seiwell, New York Daily News, 10 July 2025
The crew arrives only to find the hellish torments that have plagued Captain Kilpack and the first crew that disappeared for seven years.
—James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 July 2025
Walking during the middle of the day, however, can be less than utterly hellish if one sticks to the shady side of the street.
—Michael Barnes, Austin American Statesman, 2 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for hellish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hellish
Adjective
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Because of Denise Gough's human frailty as a woman destroyed by her own ambition and Kyle Soller's cowardice in the face of a horrible truth.—
Maureen Lee Lenker,
EW.com,
23 July 2025
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Soak up the gall of losing, absorb the horrible information, feel it to the full, go there—and then rebound, with superb elasticity.—
James Parker,
The Atlantic,
22 July 2025
Adjective
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That said, The Magician of Tiger Castle did initially start out as a YA romcom about Princess Tullia escaping her betrothal to the neighboring kingdom’s awful prince.—
Natalie Zutter
August 1,
Literary Hub,
1 Aug. 2025
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The first breach was awful: humiliating for the women who had to see their images passed around, and grim given the number of men making fun of those images with such open, gleeful cruelty.—
Faith Hill,
The Atlantic,
30 July 2025
Adjective
-
Uncertainty again: is this a positive position to be in, or a harbinger of something dreadful that will strike us?—
Ian Dexter Palmer,
Forbes.com,
4 Aug. 2025
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Well, to start with, the renderings of the interior — meant to show it at its best and brightest — look dreadful.—
Christopher Bonanos,
Curbed,
1 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Luthor combats Superman through a combination of science and technology — injecting nanobot GPS trackers into Superman’s bloodstream — using methods that recall the hideous Covid manipulation.—
Armond White,
National Review,
11 July 2025
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The dark edge in Bushnell’s writing reflects less a brave new world than a world that is the hideous extension of the old one.—
Alice Bolin
June 23,
Literary Hub,
23 June 2025
Adjective
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The practice is one of a sickening array of battlefield mistreatments recorded on video either by Ukrainian surveillance drones or Russian servicemen and then circulated on social media.—
Andrew Carey,
CNN Money,
28 July 2025
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Especially when his head gave a sickening whirl, blackening for a second, and his limbs seized again.—
Ingrid Vasquez,
People.com,
24 July 2025
Adjective
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Contract disputes involving All-Pro members of the Dallas Cowboys are hardly shocking this time of year.—
Tyler Everett,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 Aug. 2025
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The Too Much creator recently shared her vision for a film based on the shocking affair between Tom Sandoval and Rachel Leviss that was unpacked during the Bravo reality show’s Season 10 reunion in 2023, as Sandoval’s estranged ex Ariana Madix had the chance to confront them both.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
2 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hellish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hellish. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
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