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infernal region

infernal region

1 9.9
A place of suffering for the dead in religious stories
  • noun
  • /ɪnˈfɜrnəl ˈriːdʒən/
  • Literature
translation icon : región infernal
  • According to many belief systems, the souls of the wicked are sent to the infernal region after death.

Examples

  • ♪ life is like a music hall, yeah oh, prepare to enter hell, Elura, the netherworld, the abode of the dead, the infernal regions.

  • The infernal regions.

  • It's a marriage made somewhere south of heaven and north of the infernal regions.

    Blog text (18)
  • Until today... ...my only experience at welcoming has been... ...to welcome Germans and Italians to the infernal region.

  • And when, in 1900, Freud introduced his work to the world in The Interpretation of Dreams, he began with that great epigraph from Virgil that said it all: "If I cannot bend the gods above, then I will move the infernal regions."

    Academic text (1990)
  • He absorbs the true import of the sign, which signals the territory as a threshold to the infernal region but also specifically damns Ofeyi.

    Academic text (2008)
  • In various cultures, the concept of the infernal region serves as a warning against sin and wrongdoing.

  • In literature, characters often journey to the infernal region as a metaphor for facing their deepest fears.

Synonyms

hell
vsinfernal region
581 2.1

A place after death where the dead are punished in some religions

is broader, covering either the world of the dead or places of punishment
pit
vsinfernal region
  • Archaic
62 9.9

A place of punishment and suffering after death in Christian belief

is broader, also used for the nonpunishing realm of the dead
underworld
vsinfernal region
  • Literature
51 7.2

A place where souls go after death in myths

is used sometimes for punishment sites, not just the realm of the dead
Tartarus
vsinfernal region
  • Literature
14 9.9

A deep, dark place under the earth where very bad souls are punished forever after death

is more general, not only a deep prison for torment
inferno
vsinfernal region
  • Literature
12 8.8

A place of punishment after death for very bad people in Christian belief

is more general, used for a neutral dead world as well as punishment
perdition
vsinfernal region
  • Literature
11 9.9

A state of never ending suffering after death, like hell

is a place concept, not merely a state of punishment
netherworld
vsinfernal region
  • Literature
10 8.8

A dark world below the earth where the dead live

is sometimes used for punishment as well as the general world of the dead
Sheol
vsinfernal region
  • Literature
1 9.9

A place where the dead live in ancient Hebrew belief

is often used to mean punishment places too, not only a neutral dead realm
nether region
vsinfernal region
  • Archaic
9.1

A place of fire and suffering where bad people are punished after death

is broader, covering either the world of the dead or places of punishment
Hades
vsinfernal region
  • Literature
8.4

The place of the dead in Greek myths where souls go after death

is broader, sometimes meaning punishment places rather than only a ruled realm
the bad place
vsinfernal region
  • Informal
8.7

A place believed to be for punishment after death or a very bad situation

is the more formal mythological term rather than a casual euphemism

Antonyms

237 1.0

A very happy and peaceful state

How Punishing

Hell
724 4.4
infernal region
  • Literature
1 9.9
underworld
  • Literature
51 7.2

Surface Forms

Morphology

infernal + region

The meaning is directly built from 'infernal' (hellish, relating to Hell) + 'region' (an area), so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it denotes a hellish place or underworld. This follows a straightforward adjective+noun composition that is cross-linguistically common, making the expression immediately comprehensible from its parts.

Etymology

Infernal region may come from old words that mean 'below' and 'place', with infernal suggesting 'below' and region meaning 'area', giving a picture of a lower world where the dead are punished. That's why it now means 'the underworld' or 'a place of punishment'.