hellish
hell·ish/ˈhɛlɪʃ/adjective
hellish is spelled H-E-L-L-I-S-H: 7 letters and 2 syllables (hell·ish). It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,974th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, hellish means “infernal, related or similar to hell” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in hellish?
| Letters | 7: H-E-L-L-I-S-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: hell·ish |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 31,974th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is hellish?
Hellish appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,974th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce hellish?
- US /ˈhɛlɪʃ/
Hellish has 2 syllables, split hell·ish in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-hellish.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with hellish?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as hellish from its last stressed vowel (/ɛlɪʃ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of hellish
- more hellish comparative
- most hellish superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does hellish mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
infernal, related or similar to hell.
- 2
causing great pain, discomfort or distress.
I woke up from a hellish noise coming from the house next door.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Hellish in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense causing pain, discomfort or distress:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does hellish come from?
From hell + -ish.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).