What does hell mean?

Definitions for hell
hɛlhell

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word hell.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. hell, hell on earth, hellhole, snake pit, the pits, infernonoun

    any place of pain and turmoil

    "the hell of battle"; "the inferno of the engine room"; "when you're alone Christmas is the pits";

  2. hell, blazenoun

    a cause of difficulty and suffering

    "war is hell"; "go to blazes"

  3. Hell, perdition, Inferno, infernal region, nether region, pitnoun

    (Christianity) the abode of Satan and the forces of evil; where sinners suffer eternal punishment

    "Hurl'd headlong...To bottomless perdition, there to dwell"- John Milton; "a demon from the depths of the pit"; "Hell is paved with good intentions"-Dr. Johnson

  4. Hell, Hades, infernal region, netherworld, Scheol, underworldnoun

    (religion) the world of the dead

    "No one goes to Hades with all his immense wealth"-Theognis

  5. sin, hellnoun

    violent and excited activity

    "they began to fight like sin"

  6. hell, blazenoun

    noisy and unrestrained mischief

    "raising blazes"

Wiktionary

  1. hellnoun

    A place or situation of great suffering in life

  2. hellnoun

    A place for gambling

  3. hellnoun

    An extremely hot place

    You don't have a snowball's chance in hell.

  4. hellnoun

    In various religions, the place where some or all spirits are believed to go after death

  5. hellnoun

    The place where devils live and where sinners are punished after death

    May you rot in hell!

  6. hellinterjection

    Used to express negative discontent

    Oh, hell! I got another parking ticket.

  7. hellinterjection

    Used to emphasize

    Hell, yeah!

  8. hellcontraction

    he will

  9. hellcontraction

    he shall

  10. Hellnoun

    Place of suffering for sinners.

  11. Hellnoun

    Any of various towns so named.

    May you rot in hell!

  12. Etymology: haljō

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. HELLnoun

    Etymology: helle, Saxon.

    For it is a knell
    That summons thee to heaven, or to hell. William Shakespeare, Macbeth.

    If a man were a porter of hell gates, he should have old turning the key. William Shakespeare, Macbeth.

    Let none admire
    That riches grow in hell; that soil may best
    Deserve the precious bane. John Milton.

    Hell ’s black tyrant trembled to behold
    The glorious light he forfeited of old. Abraham Cowley.

    I will go down to my son mourning to hell. Gen. vi. 35.

    He descended into hell. Apostles Creed.

    The pains of hell came about me; the snares of death overtook me. Psalm xviii. 4.

    Then couples three be straight allotted there;
    They of both ends the middle two do fly;
    The two that in mid-place, hell called were,
    Must strive with waiting foot, and watching eye,
    To catch of them, and them to hell to bear,
    That they, as well as they, hell may supply. Philip Sidney.

    This trusty squire, he had, as well
    As the bold Trojan knight, seen hell;
    Not with a counterfeited pass
    Of golden bough, but true gold lace. Hudibras, p. i.

    In Covent-garden did a taylor dwell,
    Who might deserve a place in his own hell. William King, Cookery.

    Much danger first, much did he sustain,
    While Saul and hell croft his strong fate in vain. Abraham Cowley.

Wikipedia

  1. Hell

    In religion and folklore, Hell is an afterlife location in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, often torture as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as eternal destinations, the biggest examples of which are Christianity and Islam, whereas religions with reincarnation usually depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations, as is the case in the dharmic religions. Religions typically locate hell in another dimension or under Earth's surface. Other afterlife destinations include Heaven, Paradise, Purgatory, Limbo, and the underworld. Other religions, which do not conceive of the afterlife as a place of punishment or reward, merely describe an abode of the dead, the grave, a neutral place that is located under the surface of Earth (for example, see Kur, Hades, and Sheol). Such places are sometimes equated with the English word 'hell', though a more correct translation would be 'underworld' or 'world of the dead'. The ancient Mesopotamian, Greek, Roman, and Finnic religions include entrances to the underworld from the land of the living.

ChatGPT

  1. Hell

    Hell is generally defined as a place or state of punishment or torment after death, typically described as being a realm of suffering or eternal damnation. In various religious traditions, it is often depicted as the opposite of heaven and is believed to be inhabited by those who have committed grave sins or have rejected spiritual beliefs or moral principles. Hell is often associated with intense pain, anguish, and separation from a divine or heavenly presence.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Hellverb

    the place of the dead, or of souls after death; the grave; -- called in Hebrew sheol, and by the Greeks hades

  2. Hellverb

    the place or state of punishment for the wicked after death; the abode of evil spirits. Hence, any mental torment; anguish

  3. Hellverb

    a place where outcast persons or things are gathered

  4. Hellverb

    a dungeon or prison; also, in certain running games, a place to which those who are caught are carried for detention

  5. Hellverb

    a gambling house

  6. Hellverb

    a place into which a tailor throws his shreds, or a printer his broken type

  7. Hellverb

    to overwhelm

  8. Etymology: [AS. hell; akin to D. hel, OHG. hella, G. hlle, Icel. hal, Sw. helfvete, Dan. helvede, Goth. halja, and to AS. helan to conceal. . Cf. Hele, v. t., Conceal, Cell, Helmet, Hole, Occult.]

Wikidata

  1. Hell

    In many mythological, folklore and religious traditions, hell is a place of eternal torture and punishment in an afterlife, often after resurrection. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations. Typically these traditions locate hell under the Earth's external surface and often include entrances to Hell from the land of the living. Other afterlife destinations include Heaven, Purgatory, Paradise, and Limbo. Other traditions, which do not conceive of the afterlife as a place of punishment or reward, merely describe hell as an abode of the dead, a neutral place located under the surface of Earth. Modern understandings of hells often depict them abstractly, as a state of loss rather than as fiery torture literally underground, but this view of the concept of a hell can, in fact, be traced back into the ancient and medieval periods as well. Hell is sometimes portrayed as populated with demons who torment those dwelling there. Many are ruled by a death god such as Nergal, Hades, Hel, Enma or the Devil.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Hell

    hel, n. the place or state of punishment of the wicked after death: the place of the dead indefinitely: the abode of evil spirits: the powers of hell: any place of vice or misery: a gambling-house.—adjs. Hell′-black (Shak.), black as hell; Hell′-born, born in hell: of hellish origin; Hell′-bred.—ns. Hell′-broth (Shak.), a composition boiled up for malignant purposes; Hell′-cat, a malignant hag; Hell′-fire, the fire of hell: punishment in hell; Hell′-gate, the entrance into hell.—adj. Hell′-hat′ed (Shak.), hated or abhorred as hell.—n. Hell′hound, a hound of hell: an agent of hell.—adj. Hell′ish, pertaining to or like hell: very wicked.—adv. Hell′ishly.—ns. Hell′ishness; Hell′-kite (Shak.), a kite of infernal breed.—adv. Hell′ward, towards hell. [A.S. hel; Ice. hel, Ger. hölle.]

  2. Hell

    hel, v.t. (Spens.) to hide.

The Roycroft Dictionary

  1. hell

    1. A Papal bull. 2. An extinct volcano. 3. The Pantheon of the brave. 4. An ancient conflagration that was checked when Voltaire invented the asbestos intellect. 5. A theological corn, wart or tumor. 6. The sense of separateness. 7. Three telephone systems in a town. 8. An invitation to go sightseeing. _E. g._, "If I'd only had a parachute at the time I would have gone to hell gracefully and taken a record for descent."--From Lucifer's _Confessions of a Ticket-o'-Leave Man_.

The Foolish Dictionary, by Gideon Wurdz

  1. HELL

    Poverty.

Editors Contribution

  1. hellnoun

    Subject: Proposal to amend the definition of “Hell” to reflect that legalized abortion will result in the death of our nation I believe I have a unique perspective on the definition of “Hell”. Please take a moment to read my insights below. If you like my perspective, or want further background on the topic before even considering my proposal, drop me a letter by slow-mail and I’ll do my best to respond to your requests. Jesus used the word Gehenna eleven times in the Gospels to describe Hell. He chose not to use the much more common words Sheol and Hades. Gehenna is defined as the Valley of Hinnom. Jesus said it would be better to pluck out your eye (Matthew 5:29; Matthew 18:9; Mark 9:47), cut off your hand (Mark 9:43), or cut your foot off (Mark 9:45) rather than go there. What was happening in the Valley of Hinnom that caused Jesus to say that? It turns out that infanticide was illegal in Israel (Leviticus 18:21; Leviticus 20:1-5) until King Solomon legalized the worship of the false god Molech in the Valley of Hinnom (2 Chronicles 28:1-3; 2 Chronicles 33:6). Molech worshippers passed their sons and daughters to their deaths through a ritual fire. Once deceased, their bodies were disposed of in the nearby Topeth crematorium. Simply stated, illegal infanticide became legalized infanticide because of King Solomon’s executive order (1 Kings 11:5-7 especially v 7). About three centuries after Solomon, the Lord caused the ten tribes of Israel to be overcome and carried off to Assyria because they wouldn’t give up legalized infanticide and Molech worship (2 Kings 17:7-23 especially v 17). Around one century later, the Lord caused Judah to be overcome and carried off to Babylon, specifically because of one, and only one, law…ie: legalized infanticide via Molech worship (2 King 21:6; 2 Kings 21:16; 2 Kings 24:3-4). At this point, we should recall that the Lord loved both Israel and Judah, this didn’t stop Him from destroying them because of legalized infanticide. So it is with the United States today. The Lord has blessed this nation, but we have embraced our own form of Molech worship. In our case, we’ve embraced legalized abortion. According to the model that I described above, the Lord has no option but to destroy us and give the United States into the hands of another nation. The unnecessary destruction of our nation because of one law, one single law, ie: the legalized abortion of pre-born babies, is a truly significant revelation. It may be that

    I don't have an example to share

    Etymology: I don't know anything about etymology


    Submitted by eenutbrown on September 24, 2021  


  2. hell

    The Greek word is gehenna; it is the Aramaic term for the Valley of Hinnom on the south side of Jerusalem; formerly, it was a place of human sacrifice, and in NT times, a place of final judgement for those rejecting Christ.

    Hell is built by those and for those who will dwell in their own creations in Hell.

    Etymology: Hellfire


    Submitted by Tehorah_Elyon on October 14, 2023  

Suggested Resources

  1. hell

    Song lyrics by hell -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by hell on the Lyrics.com website.

  2. HELL

    What does HELL stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the HELL acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. HELL

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Hell is ranked #55121 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Hell surname appeared 373 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Hell.

    79.3% or 296 total occurrences were White.
    10.9% or 41 total occurrences were Black.
    4.8% or 18 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
    1.8% or 7 total occurrences were of two or more races.

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'hell' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #2375

  2. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'hell' in Written Corpus Frequency: #700

  3. Nouns Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'hell' in Nouns Frequency: #863

How to pronounce hell?

How to say hell in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of hell in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of hell in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of hell in a Sentence

  1. Joe Biden:

    I always thought of John Kelly as a brother, we had a hell of a lot of family fights. We go back a long way.

  2. Nicholas Brown:

    This property has an interesting, slightly checkered history, it belonged to the Hell-Fire Club( a secret organization where members of high society were rumored to commit a range of debauched acts) at one point.

  3. Barack Obama:

    My family, my kids, work that gives me satisfaction, having fun, hell, not being a buzzkill. And sometimes Democrats are. Sometimes people just want to not feel as if they are walking on eggshells, and they want some acknowledgment that life is messy and that all of us, at any given moment, can say things the wrong way, make mistakes.

  4. Trump State Director Chuck Laudner:

    We are going to barnstorm the hell out of this state. We're going to get everywhere. He wrote 'Art of the Deal,' he's going to make that close with Iowa voters, it's going to be something very, very special when he comes out here and makes that close and everybody wakes up from the New Year's Day fog, it's going to be all Trump all the time here.

  5. William Ackman:

    Hell is coming, shut it down now.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

hell#1#3340#10000

Translations for hell

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

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"hell." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/hell>.

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