Dictionary

the road to hell is paved with good intentions en · X

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Semantic loan from Hebrew הדרך לגיהנום רצופה כוונות טובות.

Meanings

1. Well-intended acts can potentially lead to disasters.
   • The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Or so many politicians in Germany’s three-party ruling coalition are now discovering. 2023 September 7, Hans von der Burchard, “How heat pumps exploded Germany’s ruling coalition”, in POLITICO, archived from the original on 05 Dec 2023:
   • The road to literary hell is paved with the good intentions of publishers who start out saying "I'm gonna do it right; I'm not gonna screw up like Alyson or Gay Sunshine." Several projects later, these publishers are turning down the same "good material" that Alyson and Gay Sunshine did and building up the same type list they first wanted to avoid. 1987 February 1, T. R. Witomski, “Zeitgeist or Poltergeist? Why Gay Books Are So Bad”, in Gay Community News, volume 14, number 28, page 8:

Forms

Deriveds

pave the road to hell

Relateds

woulda, coulda, shoulda

Synonyms

hell is full of good meanings, but heaven is full of good works

Translations (45)

ko 지옥으로 향하는 길은 선의로 포장되어 있다 (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · es el infierno está empedrado de buenas intenciones (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · es el camino al infierno está empedrado de buenas intenciones (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · sv vägen till helvetet är stensatt med goda föresatser (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · cs cesta do pekla je vydlážděna dobrými úmysly (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · cmn 好心沒好報 /好心没好报 (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · cmn 通往地獄的路是由善意鋪成的 /通往地狱的路是由善意铺成的 (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · da vejen til helvede er brolagt med gode hensigter (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · pt o inferno está cheio de boas intenções (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · ru благи́ми наме́ре́ниями вы́мощена доро́га в ад (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · cs cesta do pekla je dlážděna dobrými úmysly (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · hu a pokolba vezető út jószándékkal van kikövezve (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · fi tie helvettiin on kivetty hyvillä aikomuksilla (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · da vejen til helvede er brolagt med gode forsætter (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · he הַדֶּרֶךְ לַגֵּיהִנּוֹם רְצוּפָה כַּוָּנוֹת טוֹבוֹת (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · sv vägen till helvetet är kantad av goda föresatser (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · cs cesta do pekla je vydlážděna samými dobrými úmysly (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · eo per promesoj estas pavimita la infero (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · it di buone intenzioni è lastricata la via per l'inferno (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · pt de boas intenções está cheio o inferno (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · sh пу̑т до̏ пакла поплочан је добрим намјерама (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · vi đường đến địa ngục được lát bằng thiện tâm (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · vi mật ngọt chết ruồi (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · cs cesta do pekel je dlážděna dobrými úmysly (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · da vejen til helvede er brolagt med gode intentioner (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · ar الطَّرِيق إلَى الْجَهَنَّم مُمَهَّد بِالنَّوَايَا الْحَسَنَة (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · nb veien til helvete er brolagt med gode intensjoner (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · ro drumul spre iad este pavat cu bune intenții (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · it di buone intenzioni è lastricato l'inferno (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · tr cehenneme giden yol iyi niyet taşlarıyla döşelidir (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · it la strada per l'inferno è lastricata di buone intenzioni (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · az cəhənnəmə gedən yollar yaxşı niyyət daşlarıyla döşənmişdir (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · sh pȗt dȍ pakla popločan je dobrim namjerama (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · es el infierno está lleno de buenas intenciones (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · bg пътят към ада е покрит с добри намерения (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · uk дорога в пекло викладена добрими намірами (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · pl dobrymi chęciami jest piekło wybrukowane (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · nl de weg naar de hel is geplaveid met goede voornemens (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · ja 地獄への道は善意で舗装されている (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · ca l'infern està ple de bones intencions (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · de der Weg zur Hölle ist mit guten Vorsätzen gepflastert (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · myv кись атс ашти паро мелькастомадо (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · pt de boas intenções está o inferno cheio (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · fr l'enfer est pavé de bonnes intentions (well-intended acts can lead to disasters) · pt de boas intenções o inferno está cheio (well-intended acts can lead to disasters)