hellfire
Americannoun
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the fire of hell.
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punishment in hell.
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Military. Hellfire, a laser-guided U.S. Army antiarmor missile designed for launch from a helicopter.
noun
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the torment and punishment of hell, envisaged as eternal fire
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(modifier) characterizing sermons or preachers that emphasize this aspect of Christian belief
hellfire evangelism
Etymology
Origin of hellfire
First recorded before 1000; Middle English, Old English helle fȳr; hell, fire
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It’s a hint to think about the risks of straying from the straight and narrow, and the hellfire that comes with a slip.
From Los Angeles Times
The official said Li was aggressive in stating that the United States would face "hellfire" if things did not go his way.
From Barron's
Perhaps that heat he feels is not the warmth of success, but the hellfire of the demon’s fury.
From Salon
At the helm was Osbourne, who channeled the darker forces within this music with hypnotic wild-child abandon, as if he were possessed by the hellfire spirit.
From Salon
Ripley opts out by stepping back from her duties — all the way off a platform, plummeting into hellfire while clutching the creature that hunted her to her last breath.
From Salon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
