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.
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 • Jul. 26, 2025
He, like anyone else here, knew firsthand about the hellfire that raised them in north Omaha.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 23, 2023
The ancients thought Earth’s center was hollow: the home of Hades or hellfire, or a realm of tunnels that heated ocean waters.
From Science Magazine • Mar. 30, 2022
“She really in her work has gone through hellfire and has come out the other side — which means, as I say, she’s not to be underestimated,” Ms. Reade said.
From New York Times • Feb. 24, 2021
When I woke, the city of New York was consumed with burning hellfire.
From "Chains" by Laurie Halse Anderson
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.
