1
as in nightmares
a situation or state that causes great suffering and unhappiness
picking cotton under the hot summer sun was hell
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in messes
a state in which everything is out of order
all hell broke loose when the jury's verdict was announced
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hells
Smith stays largely mum on the news of the day, be that Kirk’s killing, or ICE raids, or whatever hells await in the coming weeks.
—
Sam Kestenbaum, Vulture, 2 Jan. 2026
The protagonist's youth doesn't defang the story, as Silent Hill f wastes no time thrusting Hinako and her friends into their personal hells.
—Zackery Cuevas, PC Magazine, 23 Sep. 2025
All’s well that metal-as-hells well.
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 27 Aug. 2025
Sam Kestenbaum, Vulture, 2 Jan. 2026
The protagonist's youth doesn't defang the story, as Silent Hill f wastes no time thrusting Hinako and her friends into their personal hells.
—Zackery Cuevas, PC Magazine, 23 Sep. 2025
All’s well that metal-as-hells well.
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 27 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hells
Noun
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Their evident fondness for one another, glowing warmly alongside all their sniping and whispering and eye-rolling, allows all the nightmares in Big Mistakes to feel like a lark rather than an incipient calamity.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
10 Apr. 2026
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Between the jealousy, paranoia, and a shocking cake-cutting scene that'd give any wedding planner a lifetime of nightmares, The Girlfriend puts a soapy, sexy, scary spin on well-trodden monster-in-law territory.—
Matt Cabral,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
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With their gentle adhesive and easy-to-use design, lint rollers can tackle a surprising range of small household messes.—
Jamie Cuccinelli,
Martha Stewart,
11 Apr. 2026
-
Beyond monitoring, this sleek unit prioritizes a clean home environment with an automatic waste-packing system that instantly seals away messes and odors.—
Rachel Cortez,
USA Today,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Arthur is living for the likes, his suburban house of horrors happening to bear similarities to the anonymous McMansions preferred by so many influencers.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
10 Apr. 2026
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The Broadway power couple first met while surviving the horrors of the underworld in Hadestown before traveling to Weimar Republic Germany in Cabaret.—
Carey Purcell,
Vogue,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Before the Lost Weekend, John and Yoko had their New York Year — turning their personal confusions into beautifully vivid moments of rage and pain.—
Rob Sheffield,
Rolling Stone,
14 Oct. 2025
Noun
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And yet, in the scene on the Hill of Love, Lapid offers no self-questioning, no sense of cinematic exertion or trouble, in the fictional framing of the real agonies of Gaza.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
27 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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Arches and natural bridges sweep like buttresses from jumbles of rock, giving this landscape a mystical, cathedral-like quality.—
Madison Chapman,
Outside,
25 Mar. 2026
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Macaroons are chewy jumbles of coconut bound together with egg whites and sweetened condensed milk.—
Lynda Balslev,
Mercury News,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Inarguably one of the best teams in the country annually, the Boilermakers had a string of March miseries.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
18 Mar. 2026
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And allergy miseries don’t end after the spring.—
Tom Gavin,
EverydayHealth.com,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
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One of his tortures is forcing his prisoners to watch it on repeat.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Apr. 2026
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In that final part of the cycle—the writing part—were torments, perhaps even tortures, but good things happened.—
Jake Lundberg,
The Atlantic,
19 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hells.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hells. Accessed 21 Apr. 2026.
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