variants
also chthonian
as in infernal
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of chthonic
But Lloyd is less interested in the specifics of either work than in the chthonic rage underneath.
—
Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2024
And no one suffers quite like the True Believer; surrendering to optimism is an invitation for chthonic forces to start doling out a whole lot of emotional rump puntings.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 16 Aug. 2024
Before the backdrop of a magmatic cavern stand three adventurers: a warrior, a mage, and a trickster who, with a roll of the dice, are preparing to defeat a tentacled chthonic beast.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 14 May 2024
Like the first game, Hades II puts you in the role of a child of Hades who, with the aid of their extended family of Olympic gods, chthonic figures, and lesser deities, must face a never-ending gauntlet to escape the realm to which they’re bound.
—Nikki McCann Ramirez, Rolling Stone, 9 May 2024
Hades and Persephone are chthonic deities, and the word can also be used more poetically to describe something dark and deathly, with a sinister power.
—Frances Vinall, Washington Post, 2 June 2023
Along with enduring anxious nights underground during aerial warfare, each is shown in his own way to have drawn on more transcendent themes, namely the chthonic mysteries of the English landscape and the polymorphous eroticism of the nude human body.
—Richard B. Woodward, WSJ, 3 Dec. 2022
Alex Garland’s latest feature, Men, is a sinister descent into a chthonic nightmare world disguised as a posh English country estate — where ancient forces engage in violent cycles of death and rebirth.
—Katie Rife, Vulture, 20 May 2022
As his batty 2021 essay made clear, Mr. Putin is possessed by a chthonic belief that Ukraine is part of a holy and indivisible union with Russia.
—Boris Johnson, WSJ, 14 Nov. 2022
Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2024
And no one suffers quite like the True Believer; surrendering to optimism is an invitation for chthonic forces to start doling out a whole lot of emotional rump puntings.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 16 Aug. 2024
Before the backdrop of a magmatic cavern stand three adventurers: a warrior, a mage, and a trickster who, with a roll of the dice, are preparing to defeat a tentacled chthonic beast.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 14 May 2024
Like the first game, Hades II puts you in the role of a child of Hades who, with the aid of their extended family of Olympic gods, chthonic figures, and lesser deities, must face a never-ending gauntlet to escape the realm to which they’re bound.
—Nikki McCann Ramirez, Rolling Stone, 9 May 2024
Hades and Persephone are chthonic deities, and the word can also be used more poetically to describe something dark and deathly, with a sinister power.
—Frances Vinall, Washington Post, 2 June 2023
Along with enduring anxious nights underground during aerial warfare, each is shown in his own way to have drawn on more transcendent themes, namely the chthonic mysteries of the English landscape and the polymorphous eroticism of the nude human body.
—Richard B. Woodward, WSJ, 3 Dec. 2022
Alex Garland’s latest feature, Men, is a sinister descent into a chthonic nightmare world disguised as a posh English country estate — where ancient forces engage in violent cycles of death and rebirth.
—Katie Rife, Vulture, 20 May 2022
As his batty 2021 essay made clear, Mr. Putin is possessed by a chthonic belief that Ukraine is part of a holy and indivisible union with Russia.
—Boris Johnson, WSJ, 14 Nov. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chthonic
Adjective
-
Christ and his angels battled for your salvation, while the Devil and his many demonic spirits sought to trick and tempt, to pull you into their infernal kingdom.James Wood, The New Yorker, 5 Aug. 2024
-
The stake, with the hooded heretic, the black man or the witch attached to it, is the burning tree and body of the infernal world.John Ganz, Harper's Magazine, 22 May 2024
Adjective
-
But being in your early thirties and playing yourself as a junior high school student and then surrounding yourself with age-appropriate actors who are actually going through that hellish rite of passage brings a whole new layer of cringe and humor.Jennifer M. Wood, WIRED, 5 Nov. 2024
-
Meanwhile, Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan) transforms into the Green Goblin and sets about making his former best friend’s life generally hellish.Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 30 Oct. 2024
Adjective
-
Concerts have taken place in a pineapple greenhouse, a tea factory, and even a geothermal bath, where 800 attendees soaked in sulfurous yellow water while listening to the ethereal electro-pop of Basque singer-songwriter Verde Prato.Philip Sherburne, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Aug. 2024
-
Even for people like me who enjoy transforming leftovers into rocket fuel for their garden, composting can turn into a foul, stinking, sulfurous mess.Michael J. Coren, Washington Post, 30 July 2024
Adjective
-
Otherworldly ambitions, though, can come with earthly costs.Marina Koren, The Atlantic, 5 Nov. 2024
-
On the flip side of things (quite literally), the Netherworld occupied by the recently, and not-so-recently, deceased needed to come off as eerie and a place where earthly rules of sound no longer apply.Josh Weiss, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024
Adjective
-
The morning of April 1, 1976, Moore announced on a BBC radio station that at 9:47 am, Pluto would pass behind Jupiter, creating the Jovian-Plutonian Gravitational Effect.National Geographic, National Geographic, 31 Mar. 2016
-
His most recent discoveries, the two tiny Plutonian satellites, were named with the help of a popular vote.Nadia Drake, WIRED, 15 July 2013
Thesaurus Entries Near chthonic
Cite this Entry
“Chthonic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chthonic. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share