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.
Perhaps that heat he feels is not the warmth of success, but the hellfire of the demon’s fury.
From Salon • Sep. 12, 2025
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
But the channel’s loyalists responded to the cuts with hellfire, interpreting them as a further marginalization of an art form and a personal attack.
From New York Times • Jun. 22, 2023
He’s completely covered in clay except for the streaks on his cheeks from crying and the hellfire green eyes that are drilling into me.
From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson
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.
