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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Given the tyrannical inferno that engulfed these precariously united states, my personal plights were mere embers, ashes, in the grand scheme of things.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
26 Feb. 2026
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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
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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His investigation is a testament to the power of perseverance, albeit a perseverance that threatens to turn into an obsession that could drag him into the abyss à la Captain Ahab.—
Paul Fitzgerald,
Rolling Stone,
3 Mar. 2026
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The horror has come now like a storm— what if this night prefigured the night after death— what if all thereafter was an eternal quivering on the edge of an abyss, with everything base and vicious in oneself urging one forward and the baseness and viciousness of the world just ahead.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Mar. 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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For a no-fuss, no-mess option for your patio, the Thermacell Patio Shield provides a 10-foot protection zone, perfect for small outdoor spaces like balconies or porches.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
5 Mar. 2026
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Instead of rolling individual enchiladas or topping individual tacos, serve a big-batch fajita casserole for Tex-Mex flavor without as much effort or mess.—
Kimberly Holland,
Southern Living,
5 Mar. 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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So many terrible things happen that the reader develops a kind of flinch, bracing for the next calamity whenever there is a brief lull in the misery.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Mar. 2026
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Earlier, on the beach, João predicted that Eddy would still try something with Alesia despite the boyfriend obstacle, but the future of their dynamic rests on whether Alesia will find it in herself to put her long-distance boyfriend out of his misery and do what’s right.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
3 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hell.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hell. Accessed 6 Mar. 2026.
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