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
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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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Eight years later, the show isn’t making viewers nostalgic or giving them nightmares.—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
26 Dec. 2025
-
The students allegedly experienced sleep issues, nightmares and were scared of returning to school due to the possibility of being in that room.—
David Chiu,
PEOPLE,
18 Dec. 2025
Noun
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And much of the international order is an attempt to avert messes, even by letting odious and illegitimate governments stay in power, because messes can be odious too.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
3 Jan. 2026
-
Treat any pet messes on the wood floors as soon as possible to prevent liquid from seeping through the wood.—
Emily Benda Gaylord,
The Spruce,
30 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
Stories The Dial Press, February 24 I love reading about the horrors.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 Jan. 2026
-
Auschwitz survivor Eva Schloss, the stepsister of teenage diarist Anne Frank and a tireless educator about the horrors of the Holocaust, has died.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
5 Jan. 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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Just as the agonies and inadequacies of the meal itself are necessary steps toward the glorious leftovers to come, to me the bird is simply a prerequisite for its bones.—
Helen Rosner,
New Yorker,
24 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The result also spotlights conference championships’ awkward fit in the current system, particularly given the fact that conference expansion has led to jumbles atop each league’s standings.—
Jacob Feldman,
Sportico.com,
7 Dec. 2025
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Ray’s most chaotic photograms—jumbles that push out of the frame or look like time bombs ready to explode—find echoes in his films, projected on the back walls, a show in themselves.—
Vince Aletti,
New Yorker,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The victims of prejudice and inequality are always the best guardians of the ramparts that sustain those miseries.—
Cressida Leyshon,
New Yorker,
23 Nov. 2025
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Falling support in Gaza Palestinian public pressure on Hamas has risen as the miseries of war have mounted.—
Mkhaimar Abusada,
The Conversation,
5 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Former Jews deemed insufficiently converted faced the Spanish Inquisition’s tortures.—
David Bloom,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hells.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hells. Accessed 10 Jan. 2026.
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