Getting the loan approved was pure hell. He went through hell during his divorce. She had to go through hell to get where she is today. Living with the disease can be a hell on earth. The pain has made her life a living hell.
Recent Examples on the WebThese sculptural earrings are chic as hell, without trying too hard. Vanessa Powell, Men's Health, 6 Sep. 2022 Delhi Crime is fast-paced, well shot, and suspenseful as hell. Taylor Antrim, Vogue, 26 Aug. 2022 It was insanely well done, very classy and stuff, but emotional as hell. Starr Bowenbank, Billboard, 24 Aug. 2022 As a woman who had a sit-down with one of the world's most reclusive leaders, Gina Lollobrigida can sure as hell run for Senate at 95 years young. Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 17 Aug. 2022 The thought of a cold future that’s metallic and steampunk–all those video games that show the future–seems like hell to me. Liza Lentini, SPIN, 12 Aug. 2022 All hell breaks loose when the malevolent entity possesses Mia. Travis Bean, Forbes, 31 July 2022 When Island Home, the group’s latest resort located off the English coast, opens its doors, A-listers beeline — but tempers and tensions come to a boil, blackmail begins, and all hell breaks loose. Lauren Daley, BostonGlobe.com, 20 July 2022 In the case of POTUS, a raucous feminist farce about seven extremely capable women tasked with keeping a very incapable commander-in-chief out of trouble, all hell breaks loose in the White House. Leena Kim, Town & Country, 12 June 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Middle English helle, going back to Old English hell, helle, going back to Germanic *haljō (whence also Old Saxon hellia "abode of the dead," Old High German hella, hellia, Old Norse hel "abode of the dead, the death goddess," Gothic halja, translating Greek Háidēs), perhaps from an o-grade nominal derivative of the Germanic verbal base *hel- "cover, hide" — more at conceal
Note: The connection with *hel- "conceal" is traditional in the etymological literature, though given that the literal meaning of *haljō, the mythological abode of the dead, is unknown, it must be regarded as speculative.
First Known Use
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)
Time Traveler
The first known use of hell was before the 12th century