hell

hell in Western monotheistic religions, eternal abode of souls damned by the judgment of God. The souls in hell are deprived forever of the sight of God. The punishment of hell is generally analogized to earthly fire. A constant feature is Satan or Lucifer (also known as Iblīs in Islam), considered the ruler of hell. Among ancient Jews, Sheol or Tophet was conceived as a gloomy place of departed souls where they are not tormented but wander about unhappily. The ethical aspect apparently developed gradually, and Sheol became like the hell of Christianity. Gehenna, in the New Testament, which drew its name from the Vale of Hinnom , was certainly a place of punishment. Many Christian churches now regard hell more as a state of being than a place. In Zoroastrianism, the souls of the dead must cross the Bridge of the Requiter, which narrows for the wicked so that they fall into the abyss of horror and suffer ceaseless torment. In ancient Greek religion the great underworld is Hades , ruled by the god of that name (also known as Pluto). The Romans called this underworld also Orcus, Dis, and, poetically, Avernus. In Buddhism, hell is the lowest of six levels of existence into which a being may be reborn depending on that being's karmic accumulations. Hell is often treated with detailed imagination in legend and literature. See heaven ; sin .

Bibliography: See M. Himmelfarb, Tours of Hell (1981); P. Toon, Heaven and Hell (1986).

hell / hel/ • n. a place regarded in various religions as a spiritual realm of evil and suffering, often traditionally depicted as a place of perpetual fire beneath the earth where the wicked are punished after death. ∎  a state or place of great suffering; an unbearable experience: I've been through hell he made her life hell. • interj. used to express annoyance or surprise or for emphasis: oh, hell—where will this all end? hell, no, we were all married. ∎  (the hell) inf. expressing anger, contempt, or disbelief: who the hell are you? the hell you are! PHRASES: all hell broke loose inf. suddenly there was pandemonium. (as) —— as hell inf. used for emphasis: he's as guilty as hell. be hell on inf. be very unpleasant or harmful to: a sensitive liberal mentality can be hell on a marriage. catch (or get) hell inf. be severely reprimanded: Paul kept his mouth shut and looked apologetic—we got hell. come hell or high water whatever difficulties may occur. for the hell of it inf. just for fun: she walked on window ledges for the hell of it. —— from hell inf. an extremely unpleasant or troublesome instance or example of something: I've got a hangover from hell. get the hell out (of) inf. escape quickly from (a place or situation): let's all get the hell out of here. give someone hell inf. severely reprimand or make things very unpleasant for someone. go to hell inf. used to express angry rejection of someone or something. go to (or through) hell and back endure an extremely unpleasant or difficult experience. go to hell in a handbasket inf. undergo a rapid process of deterioration. hell for leather as fast as possible. hell's bells inf. an exclamation of annoyance or anger. a (or one) hell of a —— inf. used to emphasize something very bad or great: it cost us a hell of a lot of money. hell's half acre a great distance. hell on wheels a disastrous situation. like hell inf. 1. very fast, much, hard, etc. (used for emphasis): it hurts like hell. 2. used in ironic expressions of scorn or disagreement: like hell, he thought. not a hope in hell inf. no chance at all. play hell inf. make a fuss; create havoc. ∎  cause damage: the rough road played hell with the tires. there will be hell to pay inf. serious trouble will occur as a result of a previous action. to hell used for emphasis: damn it to hell. to hell with inf. expressing one's scorn or lack of concern for (someone or something): to hell with the consequences. until (or till) hell freezes over for an extremely long time or forever. what the hell inf. it doesn't matter.DERIVATIVES: hell·ward / -wərd/ adv. & adj. ORIGIN: Old English hel, hell, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch hel and German Hölle, from an Indo-European root meaning ‘to cover or hide.’

hell Abode of evil spirits, and the place or state of eternal punishment after death for the wicked. In modern Christian theology, hell is conceived as eternal separation from God. Hell is parallelled in other religions and mythologies, for example, the Hebrew sheol or the Greek Hades. See also heaven; limbo; purgatory