Dantesque

Adjective

Dantesque (comparative more Dantesque, superlative most Dantesque)

1. Of, pertaining to, or in the style of Florentine poet Dante Alighieri (c. 1265–1321); characterized by a formal, elevated tone and somber focus.
   • “They’re screaming, looking for taxis, calling up friends and singing Happy Birthday to each other. It’s a spectacle, a Dantesque spectacle.”2023 March 25, Ashifa Kassam, “‘Like a vacuum cleaner running all day’: noisy nightlife making Spanish streets ‘uninhabitable’”, in The Observer, →ISSN
   • Brutal heat torching southern Europe has forced about 30,000 people to flee wildfires in France and Spain as a marine heatwave scalds the Mediterranean and researchers warn that “Dantesque” scenarios cannot be ruled out as infernos worsen.2026 July 24, Jon Henley, Ajit Niranjan, “Thousands flee wildfires in France and Spain as temperatures reach extreme levels in southern Europe”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

   Synonyms:

   Dantean