to give hell
- phrasal verb
- Informal
- If he's late, the boss'll give him hell.
Examples
-
"The day of the murder, Kenneth argued with the maid, and Irene went downstairs to give him hell about it."
Fiction book (2001) -
Every time he makes a mistake, his supervisor gives hell about it.
-
When she missed the deadline, her manager really gave hell.
-
If he forgets his report again, the teacher will give hell.
Synonyms
772
1.0
Make someone suffer for doing something wrong
92
3.9
Make someone feel bad by criticizing or teasing them
58
8.1
To angrily tell someone off
54
2.2
Speak angrily to someone who has done something wrong
38
8.6
Punish or hurt someone to get revenge
36
7.2
Scold someone angrily and severely
35
8.1
To scold someone very strongly for something they did
34
8.0
To criticize someone or something very harshly, often in public
33
6.1
To tell someone they did something wrong, usually by a person in charge
32
7.6
To scold someone strongly for doing something wrong
25
6.9
To tell someone firmly that you do not approve of their actions
18
6.9
To cause someone trouble or make them upset
11
5.8
Criticize someone in a very unkind way
11
8.2
To criticize someone very strongly and angrily
9
9.8
To criticize someone or something very harshly in public
6
7.9
Scold someone very strongly for a mistake
5
8.7
Tell someone angrily that they did something wrong
3
8.3
Tell someone angrily that they did something wrong
3
9.9
To angrily tell someone they did something wrong, often in front of others
3
8.8
To scold someone strongly for something they did wrong
3
7.3
To severely criticize someone or something
1
8.6
To scold someone very strongly for a mistake
1
9.9
To scold someone strongly for doing something wrong
1
8.1
To tell someone angrily that they did something wrong
To scold someone strongly for doing something wrong
Scold someone very strongly, often in front of others
Tell someone angrily that you are upset with them
Antonyms
How Harsh
772
1.0
- Informal
36
7.2
- Formal
33
6.1
54
2.2
Surface Forms
Morphology
Knowing 'give' (to cause or provide) and 'hell' (a situation of intense suffering) gives learners a general clue that the phrase means to cause someone severe trouble or suffering, so the negative force is partly predictable. However, the specific sense of strongly reprimanding or criticizing someone is a colloquial, metaphorical extension that is not fully derivable from the parts and requires exposure, so it is only partially transparent to B1 learners.
Etymology
The verb give hell comes from the image of hell as a very bad place of punishment; to give someone hell meant treating them as if they deserved that punishment, for example by shouting or harshly punishing them. So the phrase now means 'to criticize or punish someone very harshly'.