DictionaryAI

hellion

SayHEL-ee-uhn/ˈhɛliən/

Pluralhellions

4 meanings of hellion

Practice

  1. 1
    wild childnouncountable
    A person, often a child, who is wild, noisy and causes trouble.

    My little brother was a hellion at the birthday party.

    The hellions next door threw water balloons at our car.

    UsageOften said fondly of a wild child: a little hellion.

    Similarrascal, scamp, rapscallion

    Note
  2. 2
    evil personnouncountable
    A very bad, cruel person.

    Similarvillain, fiend, devil, monster

Less common meanings

  1. 3
    nounrare
    The young form of an insect called the dobsonfly.
  2. 4
    adjectiverare
    Unlucky, as if under a curse.

Practice

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Origin

From an old northern English and Scottish word, hallion, meaning "scamp", changed to sound like hell.

Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts