the hell
noun
informal + impolite
1
—used to make a statement or question more forceful
Let's get the hell out of here.
(chiefly US) They moved way the hell up north.
What the hell is going on?
2
—used to say in an angry and forceful way that one will not do something, does not agree, etc.
"It's your fault!" "The hell it is!"
Examples of the hell in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The burden of explaining how the hell that happened is on head housekeeper Lily (Arquette) and her husband Ray (Paterson Joseph), both of whom have a commanding enough screen presence to make the exposition bearable.
—
Katie Rife, IndieWire, 19 Mar. 2026
The Donna Kelce renovation situation escalated enough that Travis and Jason were forced to comment on their podcast, New Heights, going so far as to call Donna directly on the air to find out what the hell is going on.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 16 Mar. 2026
Let’s go reduce the carbon in the atmosphere, or let’s go figure out how the hell this thing works.
—Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 13 Mar. 2026
With two cameramen capturing the melee, Ropp had a mix of his cast, crew and whoever the hell else was around join in the game.
—Mia Galuppo, HollywoodReporter, 12 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for the hell
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Katie Rife, IndieWire, 19 Mar. 2026
The Donna Kelce renovation situation escalated enough that Travis and Jason were forced to comment on their podcast, New Heights, going so far as to call Donna directly on the air to find out what the hell is going on.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 16 Mar. 2026
Let’s go reduce the carbon in the atmosphere, or let’s go figure out how the hell this thing works.
—Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 13 Mar. 2026
With two cameramen capturing the melee, Ropp had a mix of his cast, crew and whoever the hell else was around join in the game.
—Mia Galuppo, HollywoodReporter, 12 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for the hell
Cite this Entry
“The hell.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20hell. Accessed 28 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
