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Synonyms

green earth

American  

noun

  1. a pigment used in painting consisting mainly of iron silicate, characterized chiefly by its variable grayish-green hue, lack of tinting strength, and permanence.

Etymology

Origin of green earth

First recorded in 1785–95

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.

After viewing the matter from every angle and discussing it in a full editorial conference for an hour, I don’t see how in God’s green earth we can publish “Whose Names Are Unknown.”

From Salon • Oct. 15, 2024

"It's going to be hard to go back and see a black earth instead of a green earth," Ms August said.

From BBC • Aug. 21, 2023

How on God’s green earth did you miss this one, TV Academy?

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 12, 2023

“Not on God’s green earth, as the phrase goes,” Newsom said in the weekend interview, adding that he would be with Biden on Monday and hosting a fundraiser for him Tuesday.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 19, 2023

I remember the panic that ran through me until she straightened her back and told that nurse, “There isn’t anything on God’s green earth that’s gonna make me leave my Delsie.”

From "Shouting at the Rain" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

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.