1
as in inferno
the place of punishment for the wicked after death
condemned to hell for their sins
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in nightmare
a situation or state that causes great suffering and unhappiness
picking cotton under the hot summer sun was hell
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in havoc
a state in which everything is out of order
all hell broke loose when the jury's verdict was announced
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hell
We are honored to be joined tonight by a woman who's been through hell, Iryna Zarutska.
—
February 25, NPR, 25 Feb. 2026
We are honored to be joined tonight by a woman who's been through hell, Anya Zarutska.
—CBS News, 25 Feb. 2026
Middle school is hell on earth.
—Alex Morris, Rolling Stone, 18 Feb. 2026
As Bellocchio shows, overnight Tortora’s life became a living hell, one that would go on, in prisons and courts and in the tabloids, for years.
—Stephen Schaefer, Boston Herald, 16 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hell
February 25, NPR, 25 Feb. 2026
We are honored to be joined tonight by a woman who's been through hell, Anya Zarutska.
—CBS News, 25 Feb. 2026
Middle school is hell on earth.
—Alex Morris, Rolling Stone, 18 Feb. 2026
As Bellocchio shows, overnight Tortora’s life became a living hell, one that would go on, in prisons and courts and in the tabloids, for years.
—Stephen Schaefer, Boston Herald, 16 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hell
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hell
Noun
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Times investigations uncovered the alert failure in January of last year, and later found that almost no fire trucks were in that side of the community as the inferno raged through.—
Grace Toohey,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Feb. 2026
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The inferno was filmed, photographed and broadcasted around the world in a media frenzy that sealed the airship industry’s future.—
Frank Landymore,
Futurism,
18 Feb. 2026
Noun
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What should’ve been a fun day out has turned into a lifelong nightmare for the brothers – now adults – who question every decision of their young lives at the time, and those made in subsequent years by police, detectives, and lawyers.—
Hilary Whiteman,
CNN Money,
28 Feb. 2026
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Set in a Southern English town, the film follows Xavier Prince (Lukeba), a deeply troubled man whose good deed turns into a hellish nightmare when he’s accused of murder.—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Service on the Rockaway Shuttle resumed around noon after an early-morning power outage on the peninsula played havoc with the shuttle’s signals.—
Evan Simko-Bednarski,
New York Daily News,
23 Feb. 2026
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The historic winter storm dumping up to 2 feet of snow in the Northeast is causing air travel havoc across the country.—
Matt Leclercq,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Measure out the width of your appliance, cut it to that size, and then stuff it into the gapped area to stop items from disappearing into the abyss.—
Candace Madonna,
The Spruce,
15 Feb. 2026
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Darnold, still just 28, is back from the abyss and ascending.—
Jerry Brewer,
New York Times,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
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But Open, Heaven also courses with youth’s great agony, the cruelty that learning to love should be inexorably followed by learning to grieve its undoing.—
Gabrielle Bellot,
Literary Hub,
27 Feb. 2026
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The biggest indication yet that Konstantinos Mavropanos’ stock is at an all-time high was the sudden silence around the London Stadium when the defender was seen holding his right knee in agony.—
Roshane Thomas,
New York Times,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Small fixes prevent messes as information-gathering Mercury turns retrograde in your 6th House of Wellness, nudging you to refine routines and rest your body and mind.—
Tarot.com,
Sun Sentinel,
26 Feb. 2026
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The split and spin a la NBCUniversal and Versant, which would also send the Turner assets to a Discovery Global standalone company, remains on track as the boards of directors and shareholders sort this mess out.—
Tony Maglio,
HollywoodReporter,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Sloth, after all, is a deadly sin, and it was often seen as the first step on the slippery slope to perdition.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
31 Oct. 2025
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California policymakers continue to make laws and allow regulators to contrive rules that make California a land of perdition rather than destination for enterprise because they have been captured by left-of-center interests.—
Kerry Jackson,
Oc Register,
13 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The Italian carried on at Spurs for another 13 months before finally being put out of his misery after his much more memorable rant at Southampton in March 2023.—
Dan Kilpatrick,
New York Times,
26 Feb. 2026
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But Berthe has lost her whole family to the camps … isn’t the cause of her misery right there?—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
23 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hell.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hell. Accessed 4 Mar. 2026.
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