netherworld

Plural: netherworlds

Noun

• (religion) the world of the dead; -Theognis
• The place to which one's spirit descends upon death, conceived as below the surface of the earth.
• The locale of the spirit world or afterlife, whether deemed to be situated below the world of the living or not.
• Specifically, a location of punishment in the afterlife; a hell.
• A hidden, shadowy, or sinister subculture, such as that of organized crime.

Examples

• In some religions, one's soul departs to a netherworld, instead of the heavens.
• Richard had been initiated into the netherworld of dog racing by his father, and knew all the popular greyhound performance-enhancing drugs.
• The missionary was motivated by a sincere desire to rescue souls from eternal torment in the netherworld.
• While I was astrally projecting, I felt my soul pass through many insubstantial netherworlds.

Synonyms

Hades, Hell, infernal region, Scheol, underworld, astral plane, damnation, heaven, hell, nether region