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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hell
Since Gary was on the road, Georgia rang up Lou, giving her hell.
—
Jonathan Bernstein, Rolling Stone, 17 Mar. 2026
Anne Hathaway and Anna Wintour brought hell on heels for a milestone Devil Wears Prada moment on the Oscars stage.
—Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 16 Mar. 2026
The world is going to hell in a handbasket.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 15 Mar. 2026
It is said that during Ramadan, the gates of heaven are opened and the gates of hell are closed.
—C. A. Bridges, Oklahoman, 14 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hell
Jonathan Bernstein, Rolling Stone, 17 Mar. 2026
Anne Hathaway and Anna Wintour brought hell on heels for a milestone Devil Wears Prada moment on the Oscars stage.
—Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 16 Mar. 2026
The world is going to hell in a handbasket.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 15 Mar. 2026
It is said that during Ramadan, the gates of heaven are opened and the gates of hell are closed.
—C. A. Bridges, Oklahoman, 14 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hell
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hell
Noun
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One night in early March, an Iranian writer and dissident climbed to the roof of his apartment building, in Tehran, to marvel at a towering inferno that had blanketed the sky in smoke.—
Cora Engelbrecht,
New Yorker,
20 Mar. 2026
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Carlsbad’s late first-quarter surge became an inferno in the second, with the Lancers going on a 5-0 run over the final 12 minutes of the half to take an 8-3 lead.—
Clark Fahrenthold,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
19 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The settings were a nightmare to navigate, the games were full of ads and in-game purchases, and the screen broke after a year — one star.—
Alexander Kaplan,
The Washington Examiner,
20 Mar. 2026
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The getaway spirals into terror when Katie (Charli xcx) becomes possessed by a violent, tortured spirit (Mizuhara), unleashing a nightmare steeped in Japanese horror tradition.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
20 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Wild extremes of temperature, a heat dome, a potent bomb cyclone blizzard, epic rainfalls and violent tornadoes have wreaked weather havoc across the nation.—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
17 Mar. 2026
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Some of the worst winter storms can raise havoc in March and even early April.—
Mike Lynch,
Twin Cities,
15 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Most only dive 20 meters — shallow enough for a lake, but not for the abyss.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
23 Mar. 2026
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For countless generations, humanity’s skyward gaze has revealed a heavenly abyss.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
23 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Movie night meant a trip to the video store, and every household knew the agony of forgetting to rewind before returning a rental.—
Ryan Brennan,
Kansas City Star,
20 Mar. 2026
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The celebrated poet and memoirist, delves into the agonies of her decision and describes the emerging women’s liberation movement, of which Moore would soon become a participant.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 Mar. 2026
Noun
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As history has proved, titans of industry often share a regrettable tendency to make a lot of money from leveraging enthusiasm and then leaving others to clean up the mess when the markets implode.—
Culture Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Mar. 2026
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When asked what could be done to make life easier on modern consumers when a surplus of media rights deals are making a mess of the viewing experience, McMahon didn’t have any suggestions.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Misprisions of this kind were more likely to occur, the experts argued, in religious settings marked by the rigorous policing of strict ethical injunctions or an emphasis on particular states of mind as markers of grace or perdition.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Mar. 2026
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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
Noun
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The transition from agricultural employment to factory employment involved wrenching mass migration, the utter misery of the Great Depression (as well as other brutal recessions, now faded from collective memory), and the painful dealmaking of the New Deal.—
Annie Lowrey,
The Atlantic,
25 Mar. 2026
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In contrast, his wife, Chandravati, is selfish as a daughter-in-law and disrespects Swasthani, leading to enormous misery for her.—
Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz,
The Conversation,
24 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hell.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hell. Accessed 28 Mar. 2026.
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