hell-raising

adjective

as in rowdy
being rough or noisy in a high-spirited way would often reminisce with his buddies about their hell-raising adventures as teenagers

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of hell-raising Still, he's still got plenty of hell-raising left in him. — Joey Guerra, Houston Chronicle, 19 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hell-raising
  1. rowdy
  2. rambunctious
  3. boisterous
  4. raucous
  5. rollicking
  6. rumbustious
  7. violent
  8. lively
Adjective
  • As soccer fans well know, hooligans are rowdy gangs that engage in violent behavior on game days.
    — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 13 July 2026
  • The Carnaval de Guaranda, for instance, takes inspiration from a rowdy annual fiesta held in the Bolivar Province and is made with vodka, hops, figs, white truffle, turmeric, and a local moonshine called pájaro azul.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 July 2026
Definition of rowdy
Adjective
  • The picture of Cardinals cool, Walker chased down Kyle Schwarber, shut up a rambunctious Philly crowd and introduced himself to a much wider baseball world.
    — Dan Gelston, AJC.com, 14 July 2026
  • The project’s name is what Sprouse and Columbus call their friend group of rambunctious guys.
    — Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 7 July 2026
Definition of rambunctious
Adjective
  • On July 8, Hancock read the text to a large and boisterous crowd in Philadelphia.
    — Richard Lederer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 July 2026
  • My family had a boisterous rescue dog, who was full-grown but often acted like a puppy.
    — Deborah Mower, The Conversation, 2 July 2026
Definition of boisterous
Adjective
  • England endured a raucous crowd at Estadio Azteca to beat Mexico in a round-of-16 thriller but lost veteran midfielder Jordan Henderson to a wrist injury from a postgame celebration.
    — Stephen Whyno, Chicago Tribune, 9 July 2026
  • So Monday night could potentially bring a rematch of Schwarber versus Harper in front of a raucous Citizens Bank Park crowd.
    — Charlotte Varnes, New York Times, 9 July 2026
Definition of raucous
Adjective
  • Murphy then appeared on stage to a rollicking standing ovation and made his way to his place at the dais toward the back of the room.
    — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 19 Apr. 2026
  • Those self-aware lyrics are paired with breezy melody and a gently rollicking rhythm, making this feel like a freewheeling summertime favorite.
    — Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 24 Mar. 2026
Definition of rollicking
Adjective
  • The movie is both exquisite and rumbustious, stylized and energized.
    — Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 5 May 2022
  • Still, there’s a lot of pleasing vitality to this great American story about how clever brewers took an ancient idea and unlocked an unheard-of range of innovations with a combination of capitalist energy and rumbustious creativity.
    — Kyle Smith, National Review, 18 Apr. 2021
Definition of rumbustious
Adjective
  • When a violent robbery occurred at a Waterford bank in January 2025, local police faced the difficult task of identifying and locating the suspects.
    — State Rep. Greg Howard, Hartford Courant, 10 July 2026
  • The protest turned violent, with some hurling Molotov cocktails into the bank.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 10 July 2026
Definition of violent
Adjective
  • Inside, a lively party plays out — a cacophony of voices, skin, shimmer, bottles, joy and hormones on repeat.
    — Abbey White, HollywoodReporter, 16 July 2026
  • From creators Liz Heldens and Matt Ward, the as-yet-untitled series follows Heidi (Banks), who is fresh off a messy divorce and sets out to secure a lively second act for herself and her kids.
    — Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 16 July 2026
Definition of lively

Browse Nearby Words

hellos
hell-raising
hells
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Hell-raising.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hell-raising. Accessed 18 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 17
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
child-detective
Spot the Misspelled Word July 2026 Those little red underlines can't help you now...
See All