DictionaryRoot: -alis
Latin

-alis

of, relating to

Forms

  • -alis
  • -aris — Latin variant especially used when the stem already contained l, avoiding a repeated l sound.
  • -al — English ending borrowed through French or directly from Latin.
  • -ar — English ending continuing Latin -aris.

Origin

An older Latin adjective-forming suffix; its more remote ancestry is uncertain.

Note

Expresses a relationship without specifying its kind: material, place, purpose, and other connections are possible.

115 / 291
adjective

infernal

in-FUR-nul/ɪnˈfɜːrnl/

Of hell and its imagined torments.

The souls recoil from the infernal flames.

Horned demons menace distressed souls surrounded by flames in an imagined hell.
Etymology

The “lower world” meant the abode of the dead, giving infernal its association with Hell. The extended sense “devilish, hateful” connects that image to something extremely annoying.

In context

Storytime Haven123:21
We should know that the devil had carried him off. But no such supernatural intervention of the infernal powers could be supposed in Marcello's case
📖 Whosoever Shall Offend ✨ by F. Marion Crawford

More examples

  • The poem describes an infernal realm ruled by devils.
  • Demons inflict infernal torments on the damned in this story.
  • The mural depicts an angel rescuing souls from the infernal pit.

Forms

infernal

Similar words

hellish
Describes hell itself or suffering and horror resembling it.
demonic
Relates specifically to demons rather than to hell itself.