fire and brimstone

noun

|Updated on: 27 Jun 2018

Definition of fire and brimstone

: the torments suffered by sinners in hell

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fire-and-brimstone

adjective

Recent Examples of fire and brimstone from the Web

The works that seduce our ears most, or the ones that most effectively scare the dickens out of us with visions of fire and brimstone?

— james r. oestreich, New York Times, "What Does It Mean to Play the ‘Best’ of Bach?," 22 June 2018
Saccone is not some jackleg preacher who wandered barefoot out of the woods one day, calling down fire and brimstone on the unworldly.

— kevin baker, The New Republic, "Why America needs truth and reconciliation after Trump," 17 May 2018
After much complaining, equivocating and dragging of feet, Lot and his family reluctantly left Sodom — which was destroyed at daybreak by fire and brimstone raining from heaven.

— glenna christensen, idahostatesman, "Learn from the past, but don't live in it, for faith is about the future | Idaho Statesman," 26 Apr. 2018
The reason why Hammon intrigues me beyond the historic nature of her role is the fact that today’s NBA coaches seem to be less about fire and brimstone and more about X’s and O’s.

— jamie samuelsen, Detroit Free Press, "David Griffin is front-runner, Becky Hammon most intriguing for Pistons," 10 May 2018
Ray Allen, to his genuine credit, holds his own against the fire and brimstone, keeping the movie grounded in recognizable reality with an understated air and sense of humor.

— k. austin collins, HWD, "20 Years After Its Release, Spike Lee’s Basketball Epic He Got Game Remains Searing and Essential," 2 May 2018
Billions is written in extended metaphors, strings of expletives, grandiloquent monologues, fire and brimstone soliloquies.

— rachel syme, The New Republic, ""Billions" reckons with the inflated egos and muddled ethics of Wall Street.," 24 Apr. 2018
Much of the fire and brimstone coming from the presidential palace actually strikes the very poor indigenous people trapped between the government and the communists.

— vincent bevins, Washington Post, "Instead of peace, indigenous Filipinos get the Duterte treatment," 22 Apr. 2018
McGuinness, who, unlike Adams, openly acknowledged his role as an IRA leader, forged a genuine friendship with Ian Paisley, the fire and brimstone fundamentalist Protestant preacher who spent most of his life spitting out anti-Catholic bigotry.

— kevin cullen, BostonGlobe.com, "Irish hopes may be stopped at the border," 8 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'fire and brimstone.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.