Skip to main content
hell

hell

715 6.1
Loud, wild trouble that causes disorder
  • noun
  • /hɛl/
  • Informal
translation icon : caos
  • Mugs stuffed, my brothers leap up, light out for town, hell-bent for trouble.

And so children starts raising some hell, right?

Examples

  • A prosecutor arrested the men and seized the cargo, but then all hell broke loose.

    Academic text (2015)
  • The children were having so much fun that they started raising some hell in the backyard with their wild games.

  • So when we had the incident at the Main Street bar, all hell broke loose.

    Academic text (1997)
  • As the party got louder, all the guests were having a blast, creating a total hell in the living room.

  • When the referee made the controversial call, the fans erupted in outrage and all hell broke loose in the stadium.

Synonyms

havoc
vshell
96 5.1

Great damage and confusion that makes things stop working

is noisy mischief and commotion rather than wide destruction
mayhem
vshell
68 7.3

Violent disorder and chaos that causes damage or a lot of trouble

is noisy, unrestrained mischief that disturbs but is not mainly violent
hellhole
vshell
  • Informal
51 7.9

A very dirty, unpleasant, and dangerous place

is noisy mischief and disorder rather than just an unpleasant dirty place
hell on earth
vshell
  • Informal
9 6.8

A place or situation that causes great suffering and pain

is noisy, unrestrained mischief causing trouble not severe suffering
inferno
vshell
  • Literature
7 8.2

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

is noisy mischief causing commotion rather than intense destruction or heat
snake pit
vshell
  • Informal
3 7.3

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

is noisy, unrestrained mischief causing commotion rather than hostility
den of iniquity
vshell
  • NSFW
2 9.1

A place where people often secretly do illegal or immoral things

is noisy unrestrained mischief causing commotion rather than secret immoral acts

Antonyms

735 1.0

Not showing strong feelings and being very still

505 1.5

A state where people follow rules and behave calmly

Idioms

347 8.9

An angry or surprised question showing you do not believe something

in hell
  • Informal
179 8.4

To feel great pain or trouble and be very unhappy

like hell
  • NSFW
75 7.9

Happening very quickly, with great effort or very strongly

to burn in hell
  • Offensive
38 9.6

Say that you want someone to suffer forever after they die

37 8.1

To scold someone very strongly for something they did

hell-bent
  • Informal
32 7.5

Extremely determined to do something no matter the danger or cost

28 9.0

A very impressive or powerful example of something

like hell
  • NSFW
26 9.8

Said to show that you do not believe or accept something

26 8.9

Angrily tell someone to go away and never come back

to rot in hell
  • Offensive
19 9.7

To wish that someone suffers and is punished after they die

hell to pay
  • Informal
19 8.6

Serious trouble or punishment someone gets for something they did

16 8.1

A sudden time of chaos and confusion that spreads quickly

15 7.9

Behave loudly and angrily to cause trouble

To have a very hard and painful time in life

fucking hell
  • Offensive
14 9.9

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

hell on earth
  • Informal
9 6.8

A place or situation that causes great suffering and pain

hot as hell
  • Informal
9 7.5

Very hot in a way that feels uncomfortable

To become much worse very quickly and out of control

5 8.3

No matter what happens or how difficult it is

5 9.1

To do something for no particular reason, just for fun

4 8.4

To be very sick and miserable

3 8.4

Says that something will be done no matter what problems happen

2 8.4

A very large, messy situation that is hard to fix

To have very hard times and still survive

hell on wheels
  • Informal
1 8.8

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

1 9.5

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

1 7.9

A sudden time when many people lose control and chaos starts

hell-for-leather
  • Informal
1 9.0

As fast as possible

cold day in Hell
  • Informal
9.4

An event that is very unlikely to happen

9.5

In a very energetic and excited way

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

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

hell mend him
  • Offensive
9.9

Showing no sympathy when someone suffers from their own choices

To take actions that seem good but cause bad results

the hell you say
  • Informal
9.9

A strong spoken reaction showing surprise and disbelief

snowball in hell
  • Informal
9.4

An almost impossible chance of happening

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

callback hell
  • Jargon
9.6

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

gambling hell
  • Archaic
8.6

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

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

hell-kite
  • Offensive
9.9

A fierce, violent person who fights without mercy

How Disorderly

chaos
438 3.1
hell
  • Informal
715 6.1
uproar
47 3.9
ruckus
  • Informal
31 6.8
mischief
34 2.7

Surface Forms

hell singular
hells plural

Etymology

Hell can also mean noisy trouble in phrases like 'raise hell'. A helpful way to remember this is to imagine people making such a loud, wild scene that it is like calling up trouble from hell, so to 'raise hell' is to cause a big commotion.