HELL

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does Hell mean? 

• HELL (noun)
  The noun HELL has 5 senses:

1. any place of pain and turmoil

2. a cause of difficulty and suffering

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

4. (religion) the world of the dead

5. noisy and unrestrained mischief

  Familiarity information: HELL used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• HELL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any place of pain and turmoil

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Synonyms:

hell; hell on earth; hellhole; inferno; snake pit; the pits

Context example:

when you're alone Christmas is the pits

Hypernyms ("hell" is a kind of...):

part; region (the extended spatial location of something)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A cause of difficulty and suffering

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

blaze; hell

Context example:

go to blazes

Hypernyms ("hell" is a kind of...):

trouble (an event causing distress or pain)

Sense 3

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

Hell; infernal region; Inferno; nether region; perdition; pit

Context example:

Hell is paved with good intentions

Hypernyms ("Hell" is a kind of...):

fictitious place; imaginary place; mythical place (a place that exists only in imagination; a place said to exist in fictional or religious writings)

Domain category:

Christian religion; Christianity (a monotheistic system of beliefs and practices based on the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus as embodied in the New Testament and emphasizing the role of Jesus as savior)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "Hell"):

Gehenna; Tartarus (a place where the wicked are punished after death)

hellfire; red region (a place of eternal fire envisaged as punishment for the damned)

Antonym:

Heaven (the abode of God and the angels)

Sense 4

Meaning:

(religion) the world of the dead

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

Hades; Hell; infernal region; netherworld; Scheol; underworld

Context example:

No one goes to Hades with all his immense wealth

Hypernyms ("Hell" is a kind of...):

fictitious place; imaginary place; mythical place (a place that exists only in imagination; a place said to exist in fictional or religious writings)

Meronyms (parts of "Hell"):

Acheron; River Acheron ((Greek mythology) a river in Hades across which the souls of the dead were carried by Charon)

Cocytus; River Cocytus ((Greek mythology) a river in Hades that was said to be a tributary of the Acheron)

Lethe; River Lethe ((Greek mythology) a river in Hades; the souls of the dead had to drink from it, which made them forget all they had done and suffered when they were alive)

River Styx; Styx ((Greek mythology) a river in Hades across which Charon carried dead souls)

Domain category:

faith; religion; religious belief (a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Noisy and unrestrained mischief

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

blaze; hell

Context example:

raising blazes

Hypernyms ("hell" is a kind of...):

devilment; devilry; deviltry; mischief; mischief-making; mischievousness; rascality; roguery; roguishness; shenanigan (reckless or malicious behavior that causes discomfort or annoyance in others)

 Context examples 

"This is hell, ain't it?" Joe remarked once.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

"To hell with you and your souls!" he shouted.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

“Sir,” he said to the Skookum Bench king, “no, sir. You can go to hell, sir. It’s the best I can do for you, sir.”

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

“To hell with a look-out,” I heard Wolf Larsen say when we had eaten and drunk our fill.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

But the girl held true to me, and it seemed that I would have had her when the Mutiny broke out, and all hell was loose in the country.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

"They go to hell," was my ready and orthodox answer.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

An' there's a lot of work in 'm yet. He's good for years to come. An' I do like him. I like him like hell.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

It rang on my ears long and heavily; the mountains re-echoed it, and I felt as if all hell surrounded me with mockery and laughter.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

"The hell!" Henry cried in wrath, leaving the cooking to come and count the dogs.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Instantly the spirit of hell awoke in me and raged.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)