infernal
nounEtymology From Middle French infernal, from Medieval Latin infernalis, from Latin īnfernus, from īnferum (“netherworld, underworld, hell”), equivalent to inferno + -al.
1
An inhabitant of the infernal regions, a demon.
infernal
adjUK /ɪnˈfɜː(ɹ)nəl/ · US /ɪnˈfɝnəl/
Etymology From Middle French infernal, from Medieval Latin infernalis, from Latin īnfernus, from īnferum (“netherworld, underworld, hell”), equivalent to inferno + -al.
1
Of or relating to hell, or the world of the dead; hellish.
- He proffered a pact to Satan, calling upon the Fiend and working himself into a frenzy - but his infernal majesty failed to respond.1965, Attila Zohar, Kings Cross Black Magic, Sydney: Horwitz Publications, page 119:
2
Broadly Of or relating to a fire or inferno.
3
Stygian, gloomy.
4
Diabolical or fiendish.
- Th' infernal Serpent; he it was, whose guile Stird up with Envy and Revenge, deceiv'd The Mother of Mankind1674, John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book I, lines 34–36:
- the instruments or abettors in such infernal dealings1711 December 18 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “FRIDAY, December 8, 1711”, in The Spectator, number 244; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume III, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC:
5
As an expletive Very annoying; damned.
- As I had to put up with the patronage and the lecturings, and the eyeglass of that infernal old woman, […]1905, Bram Stoker, The Man:
- When are you ever going to learn to mind your own infernal business?1982, Sharon Green, The Warrior Within, page 10:
- Synonyms
- Acherontic, infernal, Hadean, hellish, helly, Plutonic, Plutonian, stygian, subtartarean, Tartarean
- Antonyms
- celestial, heavenlike, heavenly
- Derived terms
- infernal device, infernalism, infernalist, infernality, infernally, infernal machine, infernal stone
- Related terms
- inferno, diabolical, hellborn, purgatorial, godforsaken, sinful, sinny
- Hypernyms
- unholy