Word.ws English Dictionary

gehenna

/ɡəˈhɛ.nə/

gehenna is the alternative letter-case form of Gehenna.

Proper noun capitalized: Gehenna

Gehenna

  1. In rabbinical literature and Christian and Islamic scripture, the place where the souls of the wicked go after death, where they suffer eternal damnation or annihilation.
    • Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of Gehenna?Matthew 23:33
  2. Hell.
  3. A place of suffering and misery.
    • School was Gehenna for the restless student.
  4. The valley of Hinnom outside Jerusalem.
    • The people obeyed his commandment, and succeeding ages followed the example, and Gehenna became the general sink of the city, and the receptacle of all its pollutions.1833, Selumiel, or a visit to Jerusalem, etc, page 185
    • By the fifth century C.E., however, confusion about the tradition led to transference of the reputed site of Gehenna to the Kidron Valley, on the eastern side of Jerusalem.1991, Bible Review

Synonyms of gehenna

Antonyms

Forms of gehenna

pluralgehennas

Origin of gehenna

Borrowed from Ecclesiastical Latin gehenna, from Ancient Greek γέεννα (géenna), from Hebrew גֵּיהִנּוֹם (ge'henom, “hell”, literally “valley of Hinnom”), named after the Valley of Hinnom outside Jerusalem, which was constantly filled with the waste of the city, which was then burnt. Heinous deeds are also associated with this valley, as during the time when Jerusalem was ruled by non-Jews (referred to in scriptures simply as 'pagans') child sacrifice was practiced there.

Questions about gehenna

What does gehenna mean?
Gehenna means in rabbinical literature and Christian and Islamic scripture, the place where the souls of the wicked go after death, where they suffer eternal damnation or annihilation.
What is gehenna the alternative letter-case form of?
Gehenna is the alternative letter-case form of Gehenna.
What part of speech is gehenna?
Gehenna is a proper noun.
How do you pronounce gehenna?
Gehenna is pronounced /ɡəˈhɛ.nə/.

Words near gehenna in the dictionary

  1. gegs in
  2. Geguinta
  3. geh kiang
  4. Gehant
  5. Gehants
  6. gehenna
  7. gehennas
  8. Gehennom
  9. Gehenom
  10. Gehinnom
  11. Gehinom

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: gehenna (page history and authors); Gehenna (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Gehenna.wav.

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