hellish
pronunciation
How to pronounce hellish in British English:
UK [ˈhelɪʃ]
How to pronounce hellish in American English:
US [ˈhɛlɪʃ]
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- Adjective:
- very unpleasant
- extremely evil or cruel; expressive of cruelty or befitting hell
Word Origin
- hellish (adj.)
- 1520s, from hell + -ish. Related: Hellishly; hellishness. Earlier in same sense were helli "helly" (late 12c.); hellen "hellish, infernal" (c. 1200), with -en (2); and Old English hellic.
Example
- 1. In hellish conditions , explorers find biological mysteries , " alien " environments .
- 2. There would be no plate tectonics , and our planet would probably be a lot like venus : hellish and inert .
- 3. He gathered the campers together and for some 90 hellish minutes he coolly and methodically shot them , hunting down those who fled .
- 4. It is tidally locked to its parent star , sees hellish 4000 degrees fahrenheit ( 2200 degrees celsius ) .
- 5. Now popular culture in america and elsewhere in the west is agog about the physical prowess of these highly toned men who suffer hellish tests in order to enter this elite killing machine .