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
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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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His nightmares began almost immediately.—
Nichole Manna,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Years later, a recluse with recurring nightmares, her terrible past resurfaces.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Use a Lint Roller For smaller, concentrated carpet messes, use a lint roller.—
Mary Cornetta,
Better Homes & Gardens,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Take Care Of Pets Take care of pet messes and accidents before your cleaner arrives.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
20 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Stranger Things should have either kept the Mind Flayer as the chief antagonist or revealed some even greater, more monstrous power behind it and the other eldritch horrors of the Upside Down.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
22 Jan. 2026
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In that film, Sierra reunites key protest-organizers from the factory’s workforce to tell their own accounts, while also presenting an overview of the Chilean dictatorship’s horrors.—
Josh Slater-Williams,
IndieWire,
22 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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Her film is an honorable attempt to dramatize the everyday agonies and frustrations of Red Crescent workers, to honor their quick thinking and astonishing courage under duress.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
14 Jan. 2026
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 30 Jan. 2026.
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