inferno

From Italian inferno (“hell”), from Latin infernus (“of the lower regions”), inferna (“the lower regions”); see infernal.

The meaning "big fire" came as a figurative use from the traditional idea of hellfire.

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɪnˈfɝnoʊ/

• Audio (Southern England):

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• Audio (US):

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• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)nəʊ

inferno (plural infernos)

1. A place or situation resembling Hell.
   • 1899, D. C. Worcester, The Philippine Islands and Their People:

     At each sudden explosion in the inferno below they sprang back from the brink [of the volcanic crater].

   • 1906, Upton Sinclair, The Jungle:

     When Jurgis had first inspected the packing plants with Szedvilas, he […] found that each one of these lesser industries was a separate little inferno, in its way as horrible as the killing beds, the source and fountain of them all[, and t]he workers in each of them had their own peculiar diseases.

2. A large fire; a conflagration.
   • 2006, Edwin Black, chapter 1, in Internal Combustion‎:

     Blast after blast, fiery outbreak after fiery outbreak, like a flaming barrage from within, […] most of Edison's grounds soon became an inferno. As though on an incendiary rampage, the fires systematically devoured the contents of Edison's headquarters and facilities.

   • 2021 May 5, Drachinifel, 34:59 from the start, in Battle of Samar - What if TF34 was there?‎, archived from the original on 8 August 2022:

     Unfortunately for Admiral Kurita, this is where the good news ends. The fire started by New Jersey's hit amidships has spread, and there is now a towering inferno that occupies the middle third of the Japanese battleship.

• See Thesaurus:afterlife

• towering inferno

• infernal

• “inferno”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “inferno”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

• Fronnie, nonfire

From Italian inferno (“hell”), from Latin infernus (“of the lower regions”), inferna (“the lower regions”); see infernal. The meaning "big fire" came as a figurative use from the traditional idea of hellfire.

• Audio:

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inferno n (plural inferno's, diminutive infernootje n)

1. hell-like place or situation
2. hellfire
3. a large fire

• (a hell-like place): onderwereld
• (hellfire): hellevuur
• (a large fire): vuurzee, vlammenzee

• infernaal

From Italian inferno.

• IPA^(key): /ˈinferno/,
• Rhymes: -inferno
• Hyphenation^(key): in‧fer‧no

inferno

1. inferno (place resembling hell, large fire)

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese inferno, from Latin īnfernus (“infernal; of the lower regions”).

• IPA^(key): /iɱˈfɛɾno̝/

inferno m (plural infernos)

1. (Christianity) hell
2. (figurative) a very unpleasable or negative situation

• infernal
• inferniño

• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “inferno”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “inferno”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “inferno”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “inferno”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

• IPA^(key): /inˈfɛr.no/

• Audio:

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• Rhymes: -ɛrno
• Hyphenation: in‧fèr‧no

From Latin īnfernus (“of the lower regions”), derived from īnferus (“low”).

inferno (feminine inferna, masculine plural inferni, feminine plural inferne)

1. hellish, infernal
2. (uncommon) lower, inferior

Borrowed from Late Latin īnfernus, īnfernum (“the depths of the earth”), noun use of īnfernus (“of the lower regions”), derived from īnferus (“low”).

inferno m (plural inferni)

1. hell
2. inferno

• infernale

• → Dutch: inferno
• → English: inferno
• → German: Inferno
• → Italiot Greek: ινφιέρνο (infiérno)
• → Norwegian: inferno
• → Swedish: inferno

From the toponym Inferno (a place near Sondrio).

inferno m (plural inferni)

1. a kind of red wine

• inferno¹ in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana
• inferno² in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana
• inferno³ in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

• frenino, nefroni

īnfernō

1. dative/ablative masculine/neuter singular of īnfernus

īnfernō m

1. dative/ablative singular of īnfernus

inferno m

1. (Old Lombard) Alternative form of inverno (etymology 2)

From Italian inferno, from Latin infernus.

inferno n (definite singular infernoet, indefinite plural inferno or infernoer, definite plural infernoa or infernoene)

1. an inferno

• “inferno” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “inferno” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

From Italian inferno, from Latin infernus.

inferno n (definite singular infernoet, indefinite plural inferno, definite plural infernoa)

1. an inferno

• “inferno” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Portuguese Wikipedia has an article on:

inferno

Wikipedia ^pt

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese inferno, iferno, from Latin īnfernus (“infernal; of the lower regions”).

• (Caipira) IPA^(key): /ĩ.ˈfɛɻ.nu/
• Hyphenation: in‧fer‧no

inferno m (plural infernos)

1. (Christianity) hell (where sinners go)
2. (figurative) a very unpleasant or negative situation
3. (figurative) a very hot place

inferno!

1. hell (expressing discontent, unhappiness, or anger)

• infernal
• inferninho

• “inferno”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

Swedish Wikipedia has an article on:

inferno

Wikipedia ^sv

inferno n

1. an inferno; an extremely dangerous, chaotic and generally overwhelming situation

• Swedes would associate inferno with Dante but also with August Strindberg

• infernalisk

• inferno in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• inferno in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• inferno in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)