Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
hell (noun)1.
a) (1) a nether world in which the dead continue to exist - hades
(2) the nether realm of the devil and the demons in which the damned suffer everlasting punishment - often used in curses go to hell or as a generalized term of abuse the hell with it
b) Christian Science - error sin
2.
a) a place or state of misery, torment, or wickedness - war is hell W. T. Sherman
b) a place or state of turmoil or destruction - all hell broke loose
c) a severe scolding , also - flak grief gave me hell for coming in late
d) unrestrained fun or sportiveness - the kids were full of hell often used in the phrase for the hell of it especially to suggest action on impulse or without a serious motive decided to go for the hell of it
e) an extremely unpleasant and often inescapable situation - rush-hour hell
3.
archaic a tailor's receptacle
4.
- used as an interjection hell, I don't know! or as an intensive hurts like hell funny as hell often used in the phrase hell of a it was one hell of a good fight or hell out of scared the hell out of him or with the or in moved way the hell up north what in hell is wrong, now?
Merriam-Webster Online Thesaurus
hell (noun)1.
the place of punishment for the wicked after death
SYNONIMS:
Gehenna, Pandemonium, perdition, TophetRELATED WORDS:
blazes, inferno; purgatory; hades, netherworld, shades, Tartarus, underworld; Sheol; abyss, pit; fire and brimstone, hellfireNEAR ANTONYMS:
glory, happy hunting ground, nirvana, promised land, Valhalla2.
a situation or state that causes great suffering and unhappiness
SYNONIMS:
agony, Gehenna, horror, misery, murder, nightmare, torment, tortureRELATED WORDS:
affliction, calvary, cross, curse, ordeal, trial, tribulation; calamity, misfortune, tragedy; gall, thorn; bummer, downer, dragNEAR ANTONYMS:
delight, diversion, entertainment, fun, joy, pleasure, recreation; lark, picnic, riot3.
a state in which everything is out of order
SYNONIMS:
chance-medley, confusion, disarrangement, disarray, dishevelment, disorder, disorderedness, disorderliness, disorganization, free-for-all, havoc, heck, hell, jumble, mare's nest, mess, messiness, misorder, muddle, muss, shambles, snake pit, tumble, welterRELATED WORDS:
anarchy, lawlessness, misrule, riot; knot, snarl, tangle; labyrinth, maze, web; maelstrom, storm; bollix, clutter, litter, mishmash, shuffle; hodgepodge, medley, miscellany, morass, motleyNEAR ANTONYMS:
method, pattern, plan, system