for heaven's sake
55
7.6
- idiom
- Informal
- - For heaven's sake, hurry up!
- Oh, for heaven's sake
- for heaven's sake, let
- for heaven's sake, get
Examples
-
Oh, for heaven's sake, Taff.
-
Finally, she turned away from the sink, put her hands on her hips, and said, "William, for heaven's sake!"
Fiction book (1998) -
- Oh, for heaven's sake.
-
Lower your voice, and for heaven's sake, be sensible.
-
For heaven's sake, what's the big idea?
-
What has that to do with suffrage, for heaven's sake?
Fiction book (1990) -
For heaven's sake, stop that screeching.
-
He's a priest, for heaven's sake," she said, putting on her coat.
Fiction book (1999) -
Dad said, "For heaven's sake, Rebecca, why don't you ask them meaningful questions?"
Fiction book (1996) -
For heaven's sake, hurry up!
Synonyms
∞
5.4
Say it to show disbelief, irritation, or to urge someone
∞
8.9
An angry or surprised question showing you do not believe something
448
7.5
A small amount of care or worry about something
138
6.9
To get a person's attention before saying something important or angry
66
8.2
You say this when you feel very annoyed or impatient
52
7.9
Words people say to show strong surprise, anger or urgency in a question
43
9.9
A very rude phrase people say to show strong anger or annoyance
37
7.6
Say it when you are annoyed to ask someone to do or stop something
35
8.9
A way to show strong frustration or disbelief about someone's words and actions
32
9.8
An angry short phrase you say when you give up or stop doing something
30
8.4
A short phrase people say when they feel frustrated or disappointed
29
9.9
Say it to show strong anger, frustration, or urgency, and it is rude
26
9.0
Shows someone is annoyed, impatient, or in a hurry when spoken
23
9.9
A strong rude shout people use when they feel very angry or shocked
21
8.4
A short angry cry people say when they feel annoyed or frustrated
21
9.9
People say a strong angry word when they feel very annoyed
10
7.3
People say it to show surprise, anger, or a strong need for an answer
5
8.2
A person asks angrily and urgently for someone to act now
3
9.7
A strong spoken request or cry that shows shock and anger
2
9.9
Words people say when they are very annoyed or want something done quickly
2
9.9
An old-fashioned word people say to show disbelief or annoyance
2
9.9
A rude phrase people say to show strong anger or frustration
1
9.2
A short mild word people say when they are annoyed
1
9.3
To ask or beg strongly when you are upset
1
9.9
To show strong frustration and make a request sound urgent
1
9.2
A strong word that shows annoyance and makes a request urgent
1
9.9
A short sound people make when they are annoyed or want to show something is not important
People say this to show annoyance or strong feeling
Antonyms
How Forceful
- Offensive
43
9.9
- Offensive
200
9.7
- Informal
55
7.6
- Informal
37
7.6
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal parts 'for' + 'heaven's' + 'sake' can be parsed as 'for the sake of heaven', so a learner who knows 'for' and 'sake' might infer a non-literal, emphatic reason; however the expression functions as an interjection expressing impatience or urgency rather than a literal purpose. Because the pragmatic, exclamatory use and the nuance of annoyance/urgency are not fully predictable from the constituents (even though similar religious invocations exist cross-linguistically), this is only partially transparent to a B1 learner.
Etymology
For heaven's sake comes from people long ago calling on heaven for the sake of help or attention. Calling on heaven made the words very strong, and that is why we now use it to show 'impatience', 'annoyance', or 'urgency'.