hell Hear it!

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hell definition

hell (hel)

noun

  1. Bible the place where the spirits of the dead are
  2. Theol.
    1. a state or place of woe and anguish, arrived at by the wicked after death; specif., esp. in Christian theology, the state or place of total and final separation from God and so of eternal misery and suffering, arrived at by those who die unrepentant in grave sin
    2. popularly this state or place as the abode of Satan and of all other devils and of all the damned
    3. those in hell
    4. the powers of hell, evil, etc.
  3. any place or condition of evil, pain, disorder, cruelty, etc.
  4. Informal
    1. any extremely disagreeable, unsettling, or punishing treatment or experience, or the cause or source of this
    2. devilish spirits or excitement full of hell

Etymology: ME helle < OE hel (akin to Ger hölle, hell & ON Hel, the underworld goddess, Hel) < base of helan, to cover, hide < IE base *el-, to hide, cover up > L celare, to hide

intransitive verb

Slang to live or act in a reckless or dissolute way: often with around

interjection

used to express irritation, anger, etc.
hell Idioms

as hell

Slang as can be; to the highest degree; extremely

be hell on

☆ Slang
  1. to be very difficult or painful for
  2. to be very strict or severe with
  3. to be very destructive or damaging to

catch hell

or get hell
Slang to receive a severe scolding, punishment, etc.

for the hell of it

Slang for no serious reason

hell of a

☆
Slang very much of a

like hell

Slang
  1. very bad; awful
  2. very much
  3. very fast; quickly

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

idioms hell idiom

hell Synonyms

hell

n.

  1. Place of the dead, especially of the wicked dead; often capital H

    underworld, inferno, place of departed spirits, the lower world, the grave, infernal regions, Sheol, Hades, Tartarus, Gehenna, abyss, realm of Pluto, Tophet, Styx, Acheron, Dis, Cocytus, Avernus, Abaddon, Satan's Kingdom, abode of the damned, abode of the dead, everlasting fire, perdition, purgatory, limbo, Erebus, nether world, Pandemonium, Avichi, hell-fire, Malebolge, bottomless pit, perdition, hellfire, lake of fire and brimstone, place of the lost, place of torment, habitation of fallen angels, blue blazes*, Halifax*, Hoboken*, hot place*, you-know-where*, the hereafter*.

    Antonyms heaven*, earth*, paradise. *

  2. A condition of torment

    trial, hellfire, ordeal; see crisis, difficulty 1, 2, emergency.

be hell on*

be painful for, be difficult to, be harsh with; see abuse 1.

catch <strong>or </strong>get hell*

get into trouble, be scolded, receive punishment; see get it 2.

for the hell of it*

for no reason, for the fun of it, playfully; see lightly 1.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

hell Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • scare: Regardless of actual party politics, it is the creeping erosion of norms which scares the hell out of me.

Preposition: on

  • earth: Apart from the nazi death camps, it's probably the nearest we've come to creating hell on earth.

Adjective modifier

  • bloody: John: Oh, bloody hell, I told you!

Modifies a noun

  • bent: He loves the thrill of the car at full speed He's hell bent on taking the lead.

Noun used with modifier

  • living: The absence of faith hope and love makes life a living hell, the land of the walking dead.

Preposition: in

  • handbasket: The justification is that things are going to hell in a handbasket.

Preposition: of

  • lot: They look a hell of a lot better with tails.

Preposition: for

  • eternity: In fact, we'd be in hell for eternity.
hell usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

hell quotes

Edward Hopper is the great painter of American hell in the 20th century, the limner-laureate of the beauty, poignance, eternityand bone-ache disquietude of life.

-Allen, Henry Southworth

To the Glorious,Pious, and Immortal Memory of King William theThird,Prince of Orange, who delivered us from Popes and Popery, Knaves and Knavery, Slaves and Slavery, Brass Money, and Wooden Shoes, and He that Will Not Take thisToast May He Be Damn'd,Cramm'd, and Jamm'd Down the Great Gun of Athlone, and the Gun Fired in the Pope's Belly, and the Pope Fired in the Devil's Belly, and the Devil Fired into Hell, and the Door Lock'd, and the Key Forever in the Pocket of a Stout Orangeman. And Here's a Fart for the Bishop of Cork!

-Anonymous

Je sais la douleur est la noblesse unique O  u' ne mordront jamais la terre et les enfers. I know that pain is the one nobility upon which Hell itself cannot encroach.

-Baudelaire, Charles

hell quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"hell." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/hell>

APA Style

hell. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/hell

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