What does "infernalism" mean?
Belief in the existence of hell, especially as a place of eternal and conscious torment after death.
Infernalism
noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Belief in the existence of hell, especially as a place of eternal and conscious torment after death.
- Grammar: infernalism is listed as noun.
- Usage evidence: To these conceptions Protestant churches will gradually yield, and while still nominally the same in their faith, its infernalism will disappear, and the idea of future punishment will become a rational instead of a diabolical picture of Divine justice.
How to use "infernalism"
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Meaning check
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Source and review context
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Before you rely on this definition
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 Belief in the existence of hell, especially as a place of eternal and conscious torment after death. countable, uncountable
"To these conceptions Protestant churches will gradually yield, and while still nominally the same in their faith, its infernalism will disappear, and the idea of future punishment will become a rational instead of a diabolical picture of Divine justice."
- 2 Hellishness. countable, dated, uncountable
"It is because worship has been slavishly bestowed on the personification of the worst of the human qualities magnified to infernalism, that it has been considered a degrading, or at least a pusilanimous thing […]"
- 3 An infernal thing or act. countable, dated, uncountable
"Is not the State an infernal institution? Why expect from it, then, anything but infernalisms?"
Example
"To these conceptions Protestant churches will gradually yield, and while still nominally the same in their faith, its infernalism will disappear, and the idea of future punishment will become a rational instead of a diabolical picture of Divine justice."
Common questions
How do you use "infernalism" in a sentence?
To these conceptions Protestant churches will gradually yield, and while still nominally the same in their faith, its infernalism will disappear, and the idea of future punishment will become a rational instead of a diabolical picture of Divine justice.
Etymology
From infernal + -ism. First attested in 1795, popularised in the theological sense in the 2000s–10s.