Meaning & use
Tartarus
Last updated
Meanings
proper nounproperliteraryreligion
In Greek mythology, the deep dark place below the earth where the gods locked up their worst enemies.
Grammar: A name, so it takes no article: 'thrown into Tartarus', not 'the Tartarus'.
Patterns
- be thrown into Tartarus
- be sent to Tartarus
In the old stories, the defeated Titans were thrown into Tartarus.
The poet describes a descent into Tartarus, far below the world of the living.
proper nounproperliteraryfigurative
A word writers use for any very deep, dark, frightening place, especially a prison.
Grammar: Used figuratively with 'a' or 'the' when it means a kind of place rather than the named one.
Patterns
- a Tartarus of something
The old jail was a Tartarus of cold stone and locked doors.
Critics called the factory a modern Tartarus.
Common combinations
- thrown into Tartarus
- In the myth, the rebels were thrown into Tartarus for their rebellion.
- descend into Tartarus
- The hero must descend into Tartarus to rescue the dead.
- the depths of Tartarus
- Even the depths of Tartarus could not hold him forever.
Synonyms and how they differ
- underworld
- The general home of the dead in myth; Tartarus is the deepest, most punishing part of it.
- hell
- The everyday English word for a place of punishment after death; Tartarus is the older Greek name and sounds more literary.
- abyss
- A very deep empty space; it can describe darkness and depth but has no gods or punishment in it.
Opposites
Word family
- Tartarean adjective
- Literary adjective meaning 'of Tartarus' or 'extremely dark and deep'.
Commonly confused: Tartarus or tartar? Tartarus or Tartaros?
Tartarus vs tartar
A tartar is a hard deposit on teeth or a fierce person; it sounds almost the same but has nothing to do with the mythological place.
Tartarus vs Tartaros
The Greek spelling of the same name; English normally uses Tartarus.
Practice
Which sentence uses Tartarus correctly?
Choose one answer.
Tartarus is a proper noun, so it takes no article and has no plural: 'sent to Tartarus'. Option 0 wrongly adds 'the', and option 2 wrongly treats it as a countable common noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “Tartarus”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.