Definition of "netherworld" []

• The world of the dead. (noun)
• The part of society engaged in crime and vice: "In this black-white nether world, nobody judged the customers” ( Malcolm X). (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Rhyme deduced the FBI man was referring to the netherworld of intelligence—government snooping agencies that might not technically have jurisdiction in the country but who can maneuver through loopholes to keep on top of possible malfeasance within the borders."
• "By the time issue #12 came along, readers had been to Rann, a "netherworld," and a Nazi-friendly alternate Earth (complete with Nazi Challengers of the Unknown)."
• "After the Rannians executed him, a Rannian wizard named Mordorh discovered that when Molantans die, their spirits go to a "netherworld," from whence they can be brought back."