Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A place or condition suggestive of hell, especially with respect to human suffering or death: the inferno of battle.
- n. A place of fiery heat or destruction.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Hell; the infernal regions.
Wiktionary
- n. Hell-like place or situation.
- n. A large fire
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. The infernal regions; hell.
- n. A raging fire.
WordNet 3.0
- n. (Christianity) the abode of Satan and the forces of evil; where sinners suffer eternal punishment
- n. any place of pain and turmoil
- n. a very intense and uncontrolled fire
Etymologies
- Italian, hell, from Late Latin īnfernus; see infernal.
Examples
“No one told the workers on the 9th floor, who were trapped behind locked doors in what can only be described as an inferno.”
The Huffington Post: Richard Greenwald: Lessons from History
“You could see one of the worst qualities of life on the planet, but in this inferno was an enterprising population that worked like ants.”
“They say the inferno was a mass suicide orchestrated by Koresh, who had predicted an attack and told followers to be ready to die for him in a fire that would take them all to heaven.”
“MARQUEZ: One Forest Service official calls the inferno a tornado made flames with a will of its own.”
“All that was needed to turn the deck into an inferno was a spark, and Zavala was glad to provide one.”
“Mingled with the desire that raged within him like an inferno was a cold, bitter anger stemming from the knowledge that he would be neither the first nor the last man to possess her.”
“Yes, the inferno was the most thrilling part of the ship; and no other part of the ship could hold a candle to it.”
“The fire recalled the inferno that destroyed a nearly completed hotel adjacent to state broadcaster CCTV's landmark new office building in downtown Beijing, leaving one firefighter dead.”
“The Bangkok Post said the owner of the Santika club and the lead singer of the band playing that night are among those charged over the inferno, which is believed to have broken out after fireworks were set off to celebrate New Year's Eve 2008.”
“It is believed the source of the inferno was a wood stove on the front porch that served as the home's heat source.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘inferno’.
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Fire
Words describing or related to fire.
burn, blaze, brand, sizzle, scorch, char, crisp, crackle, kindle, flame, inferno, pyre and 27 more...
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Public List: Free Association
Read the top word on the list and add a word that you associate with it. The association may be semantic, etymological, structural, literary, personal, etc.
Rules:
1. In t...mounch, mensch, trench, war, harmony, guitar, cigar, bubblegum, baseball cards, shortstop, bear, chained and 72 more...

skipvia Dante's vision of Hell and environs qualifies as the devil's playground. See Free Association. Feb 5, 2008