the hell en · ADV
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ðəˈhɛl/
Meanings
-
(not-comparable, sometimes, vulgar) Used to indicate emphatic rejection of an assertion or request.
A: I can run faster than a horse. B: The hell you can!
'You stay here, sir,' O'Bannion instructed. 'The hell I will,' Feeney said.
1990, Stephen King, The Moving Finger:
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(not-comparable, sometimes, vulgar) Expletive used for emphasis, typically after an interrogative term or relative pronoun.
D'Allesandro was particularly adept at that kind of flash-forward-then-backward-all-the-hell-over-the-place kind of narrative and like a tourist following a well-seasoned guide, you never lose track of the line.
1989 December 17, Christopher Wittke, “On The Edge In The '80s”, in Gay Community News, volume 17, number 23, page 11:What the hell was that?
I thought we were all sisters and brothers I guess I am not accepted. I sure wish the hell I stayed in the closet.
1971, Allan Oxside, “Oxside In A Closet”, in Body Politic, number 1, page 3:“Whoever the hell is running the place now has made a terrible mess of it,” he said... “Not in the sense that it looks different, or that it isn't pretty much permanently full. It's just that the food as gone utterly down the khazi.”
2009 February 19, Gareth Lewis, Southern Daily Echo:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| in the hell | alternative | lexicographic |
Synonyms
like hell · hell · the hell you say
Translations (58)
sh do vraga (expletive used for emphasis after an interrogative term) · pl do cholery (expletive used for emphasis after an interrogative term) · fi paskanmarjat (indication of emphatic rejection of an assertion) · hu francba (indication of emphatic rejection of an assertion) · bg дявол (expletive used for emphasis after an interrogative term) · ro naiba (expletive used for emphasis after an interrogative term) · fr que dalle (indication of emphatic rejection of an assertion) · fr mais bien sûr (indication of emphatic rejection of an assertion) · ro mama naibii (expletive used for emphasis after an interrogative term) · pl do diabła (expletive used for emphasis after an interrogative term) · ro pana mea (expletive used for emphasis after an interrogative term) · eo diable (indication of emphatic rejection of an assertion) · ro mama mă-sii (expletive used for emphasis after an interrogative term) · ro dracu' (expletive used for emphasis after an interrogative term) · de zur Hölle (expletive used for emphasis after an interrogative term) · ro pe naiba (indication of emphatic rejection of an assertion) · sh до врага (expletive used for emphasis after an interrogative term) · sh ma kakvi (indication of emphatic rejection of an assertion) · it cazzo (expletive used for emphasis after an interrogative term) · it minchia (expletive used for emphasis after an interrogative term) · bg че няма (indication of emphatic rejection of an assertion) · sh дођавола (expletive used for emphasis after an interrogative term) · es diablos (expletive used for emphasis after an interrogative term) · ro nici prin cap (indication of emphatic rejection of an assertion) · hu a fene (expletive used for emphasis after an interrogative term) · ro pe dracu' (indication of emphatic rejection of an assertion) · bg че дяволите (indication of emphatic rejection of an assertion) · sh nikako (indication of emphatic rejection of an assertion) · sv tusan (expletive used for emphasis after an interrogative term) · hu a fenéket (indication of emphatic rejection of an assertion) · sh dođavola (expletive used for emphasis after an interrogative term) · sh никако (indication of emphatic rejection of an assertion) · sv fan (expletive used for emphasis after an interrogative term) · hu a franc (expletive used for emphasis after an interrogative term) · fi paskat (indication of emphatic rejection of an assertion) · sv så fan heller (indication of emphatic rejection of an assertion) · sh ма какви (indication of emphatic rejection of an assertion) · es diantre (s) (expletive used for emphasis after an interrogative term) · es demonios (expletive used for emphasis after an interrogative term) · hu a francokat (indication of emphatic rejection of an assertion) · ro dracului (expletive used for emphasis after an interrogative term) · pl do diabła (indication of emphatic rejection of an assertion) · hu a picsa (expletive used for emphasis after an interrogative term) · sv i helvete (expletive used for emphasis after an interrogative term) · fi vitut (indication of emphatic rejection of an assertion) · hu az ördög (expletive used for emphasis after an interrogative term) · it diamine (expletive used for emphasis after an interrogative term) · de als ob (indication of emphatic rejection of an assertion) · sv i helvete heller (indication of emphatic rejection of an assertion) · pt diabos (expletive used for emphasis after an interrogative term) · it diavolo (expletive used for emphasis after an interrogative term) · hu a frászt (expletive used for emphasis after an interrogative term) · pl do cholery (indication of emphatic rejection of an assertion) · ro puii mei (expletive used for emphasis after an interrogative term) · ro naibii (expletive used for emphasis after an interrogative term) · ro mama dracului (expletive used for emphasis after an interrogative term) · bg по дяволите (expletive used for emphasis after an interrogative term) · it col cazzo (indication of emphatic rejection of an assertion)