in hell
179
8.4
- idiom
- Informal
:
en el infierno
- The long wait at the airport with no updates was like being in hell for the weary travelers.
The root cause of the quitter is when you get in hell, you can't process it.
- The root cause of the quitter is when you get in hell, you can't process it.
- This is what life is about because they saw me go deep in hell and come back out.
- His first thoughts are I am in hell, I am dead, and then I am mad.
- You can only gain that from being in hell and back.
- There's nothing like a marriage that's like made in hell.
- I said, you know, the road to paradise starts in hell and loves.
- That was part of a documentary called Hope in Hell about Long Bay Prison.
- you must retrain your mind to think differently. In Hell, I wasn't training them to do that.
- There's no, if you were in hell, you would be animated by God there.
- It doesn't come out, it should be noted, just ends there in hell.
- Bro, my best friend, great guy, great guy for sure burning in hell one day.
- You want to see them, we'll send them to you in hell.
- If you ever violate the oath of Lacozo Nostria, are you burning in hell like the Saint burning in your hands?
Examples
-
She described the intense pain of her injury as being in hell, feeling hopeless and overwhelmed.
-
Now you are in hell in this.
-
This is what life is about because they saw me go deep in hell and come back out.
-
You can only gain that from being in hell and back.
-
We choose to live in hell based off of our words to ourselves, in our views on life.
-
And if you wake up in hell tomorrow, you have only yourself to blame.
Fiction book (1991) -
I feel like I'm in hell.
-
They'd rather live in hell than think clearly, my dad always said.
Fiction book (1991) -
"I don't think there's a chance in hell of that happening."
Fiction book (1997) -
But there's no way in hell I'm going to tailor my investigation to fit your business agenda.
Fiction book (1997)
Synonyms
∞
3.7
A very painful or difficult experience
310
2.8
A feeling of great unhappiness and suffering
135
3.9
A very strong physical or mental pain
70
5.6
Great physical or mental pain someone feels
51
7.9
A very dirty, unpleasant, and dangerous place
28
6.1
Very unpleasant and painful, like being in hell
14
9.0
A temporary state of painful waiting before things get better
9
6.8
A place or situation that causes great suffering and pain
7
8.2
A situation of great danger and destruction, like war or a big fire
1
7.7
Very upset and shocked after seeing or experiencing something terrible
Feeling very strong pain in the mind or body
Feeling very strong pain or deep worry
An extremely unpleasant situation that is hard to handle
Antonyms
How Distressed
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'experiencing extreme suffering' is directly derivable from combining 'in' (inside) with 'hell' (a place of intense suffering or punishment); the phrase is a straightforward locative metaphor rather than an arbitrary idiom. This use is cross-linguistically common (many languages use a 'hell' metaphor for severe distress), so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the figurative meaning.
Etymology
The idiom in hell comes from old religious stories of hell as a place of fire and great pain. Being in that place gives a strong picture of being trapped in suffering, so the phrase means 'experiencing extreme suffering'.