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War is hell

Cultural  

  1. A statement attributed to General William Tecumseh Sherman, a leader of the Union army in the Civil War. Sherman supposedly said this several years after the war, in an address to a group of cadets.

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.

Then ponder this: War is hell, but is it good for the economy?

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026

“But the war changed all our lives. War is hell, but it leaves lessons.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 7, 2021

War is hell and it should not be glorified. — paul j hamel 17.

From New York Times • Mar. 1, 2010

War is hell, and so are high heels, as British forces in Malaysia learn while staging musicals in a campy off-Broadway delight.

From Time Magazine Archive

War is hell, but that’s not the half of it, because war is also mystery and terror and adventure and courage and discovery and holiness and pity and despair and longing and love.

From "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien

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.