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hell

hell

630 3.7
A very painful or difficult experience
  • noun
  • /hɛl/
  • Informal
: infierno
  • The first year with your second child is a special kind of hell.
  • a living hell

Well, that would be hell for them, right?

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Examples

  • You scared the hell out of me!

  • Dealing with the aftermath of the accident was pure hell for her and her family.

  • Well, that would be hell for them, right?

  • Within seconds, all hell breaks loose.

  • As usual, I'm mad as hell with no one to talk to about it.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • I know you'd make my life hell if I did.

  • You're doing one hell of a good job.

  • After losing his job, Mark felt like he was going through hell every day.

  • The intense training for the marathon was a hell of an experience, pushing him to his limits.

Synonyms

suffering
vshell
477 2.8

Pain and trouble that a person feels in the body or mind

is a hard or painful situation that creates that state
misery
vshell
285 2.8

A feeling of great unhappiness and suffering

is a difficult experience causing pain rather than only unhappiness
agony
vshell
139 3.9

A very strong physical or mental pain

is a painful or difficult situation rather than the inner intense pain
ordeal
vshell
127 4.8

A difficult, unpleasant experience that lasts a long time

is any extreme difficulty and not only those that take long
torture
vshell
  • Offensive
109 7.2

Very strong mental or physical pain that is hard to bear

is an extremely difficult experience that is not necessarily inflicted by others
torment
vshell
  • NSFW
60 5.6

Great physical or mental pain someone feels

is a situation that is extremely difficult rather than the suffering itself
the pits
vshell
  • Informal
44 8.8

A very bad situation that makes you feel unhappy

is the broad notion of an extremely hard or painful situation not place
hellhole
vshell
  • Informal
41 7.9

A very dirty, unpleasant, and dangerous place

is a difficult experience or situation rather than only a dirty place
purgatory
vshell
26 9.0

A temporary state of painful waiting before things get better

is the general idea without implying temporary suffering or later relief
hell on earth
vshell
  • Informal
18 6.8

A place or situation that causes great suffering and pain

is the general idea of an extremely difficult painful experience
snake pit
vshell
  • Informal
7 7.3

An unpleasant, chaotic place where people act badly toward each other

is focused on severe suffering and hardship rather than hostility or chaos
inferno
vshell
  • Literature
5 8.2

A situation of great danger and destruction, like war or a big fire

is the same extreme suffering idea but without the fiery image
fresh hell
vshell
  • Informal
1 9.9

A new, very difficult problem that comes after other troubles

is any extremely difficult situation, not only new or recurring troubles

Antonyms

288 1.0

A feeling of physical ease and being free from pain

1 5.9

To feel great happiness and peace quietly

Idioms

∞ 8.9

An angry or surprised question showing you do not believe something

136 9.0

A very impressive or powerful example of something

like hell
  • NSFW
98 7.9

Happening very quickly, with great effort or very strongly

in hell
  • Informal
80 8.4

To feel great pain or trouble and be very unhappy

to burn in hell
  • Offensive
44 9.6

Say that you want someone to suffer forever after they die

37 8.9

Angrily tell someone to go away and never come back

35 8.1

To scold someone very strongly for something they did

hell-bent
  • Informal
33 7.5

Extremely determined to do something no matter the danger or cost

to rot in hell
  • Offensive
25 9.7

To wish that someone suffers and is punished after they die

like hell
  • NSFW
24 9.8

Said to show that you do not believe or accept something

fucking hell
  • Offensive
23 9.9

A strong rude shout people use when they feel very angry or shocked

To have a very hard and painful time in life

23 7.9

Behave loudly and angrily to cause trouble

hell to pay
  • Informal
21 8.6

Serious trouble or punishment someone gets for something they did

hell on earth
  • Informal
18 6.8

A place or situation that causes great suffering and pain

14 8.1

A sudden time of chaos and confusion that spreads quickly

12 9.1

To do something for no particular reason, just for fun

11 8.4

Says that something will be done no matter what problems happen

hot as hell
  • Informal
9 7.5

Very hot in a way that feels uncomfortable

8 8.3

No matter what happens or how difficult it is

cold day in Hell
  • Informal
5 9.4

An event that is very unlikely to happen

5 8.4

To be very sick and miserable

snowball in hell
  • Informal
4 9.4

An almost impossible chance of happening

To become much worse very quickly and out of control

3 7.9

A sudden time when many people lose control and chaos starts

hell on wheels
  • Informal
3 8.8

A person or thing that is very active, hard to control and often aggressive

2 8.4

A very large, messy situation that is hard to fix

To have very hard times and still survive

2 9.5

For a very long time, often to say something will never happen

hell-for-leather
  • Informal
1 9.0

As fast as possible

the hell you say
  • Informal
1 9.9

A strong spoken reaction showing surprise and disbelief

1 9.1

To take actions that seem good but cause bad results

Very bad damage that comes from the sky, like bombs or storms

9.5

In a very energetic and excited way

To take a very long time and cause a lot of trouble

hell mend him
  • Offensive
9.9

Showing no sympathy when someone suffers from their own choices

Compounds

hell-raising
  • Informal
2 8.4

Noisy, wild actions that cause trouble or excitement

fresh hell
  • Informal
1 9.9

A new, very difficult problem that comes after other troubles

gambling hell
  • Archaic
1 8.6

A place where people bet money, often illegal and full of trouble

hell-kite
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A fierce, violent person who fights without mercy

callback hell
  • Jargon
9.6

A situation where too many nested callbacks make code hard to read and change

hell dust
  • NSFW
9.9

A slang word for the illegal drug heroin

hell-rooster
  • Offensive
9.9

A person who fights or argues in a very angry way

How Bad

hell
  • Informal
630 3.7
hardship
129 3.4
nightmare
370 1.5
difficulty
615 2.4
inconvenience
98 4.3

Surface Forms

hell singular
hells plural

Etymology

Hell is used for a very bad or painful time because the old idea of hell was a place of punishment and suffering. So people say something is 'like hell' or a 'living hell' when they want to show it is extremely awful.