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hell

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A place of torment where some or all sinners are believed to go after death and evil spirits are believed to be.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

hehl
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈhɛl

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. in many religionsuncountable

    A place of torment where some or all sinners are believed to go after death and evil spirits are believed to be.

  2. countablehyperbolicfiguratively

    A place or situation of great suffering in life.

  3. Any place of pain and turmoil

  4. countable

    A place for gambling.

  5. In certain games of chase, a place to which those who are caught are carried for detention.

  6. figuratively

    An extremely hot place.

verb

  1. To make hellish; to place (someone) in hell; to make (a place) into a hell.

  2. intransitive

    To move quickly and loudly; to raise hell as part of motion.

  3. To hurry, rush.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: (in many religions, uncountable) A place of torment where some or all sinners are believed to go after death and evil spirits are believed to be.

Used this way, hell is a reasonably familiar word carrying real weight of difficulty or hurt. It carries more force than its gentler alternatives. This is a religious use: it carries the weight of tradition and ceremony.

Emotional tone
Strongly negative
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Strong
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Serious and weighty
Usage feel
Everyday but emotionally strong

Where it naturally appears

  • Religion/spirituality
  • Historical writing
  • Personal/emotional discussion
  • Literature/storytelling

Usage note

Hell is emotionally heavy: it suggests deep or lasting feeling, not a passing mood, so it can overstate a small reaction.

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use hell

  • “Going to the dentist was pure hell for me as a child.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

like hellbloody hell

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • hellernounInflected form

    100 halers equal 1 koruna Slovakia.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • hell-for-leatheradverbCompound term

    At breakneck speed.

  • hell dustnounCompound term

    Street names for heroin.

  • hell-kitenounCompound term

    Someone who is a very fierce fighter.

  • hell on earthnounCompound term

    Any place of pain and turmoil.

  • hell raisingnounCompound term

    Making trouble just for the fun of it.

  • hell-roosternounCompound term

    Someone who is a very fierce fighter.

Related Words

Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: place of torment where some

netherworldhades

Antonyms

Sense: place of torment where some

heaven

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.