like hell

prep_phrase — 3 senses

like hell

prep_phrase

1

Emphatic, Intensifier In a manner that uses all of the strength, speed, or effort that a person can summon.

You'd better run like hell!
He had an innate honesty and humility, a work ethic that elevated him above most others in England. He knew what he wanted and worked like hell to try to make it happen.2018 May 4, Tom English, “Steven Gerrard: A 'seriously clever or recklessly stupid' Rangers appointment”, in BBC Sport:

2

Used ironically to express the opposite of one's intentions

Me do the washing up? Like hell I will!

3

Bad or badly.

You look like hell!
It stank like hell down there!

1 more example

Eat something, for God's sake. You look like hell.2015 November 23, Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, “Dulcinea”, in The Expanse, season 1, episode 1, spoken by Octavia Muss:

Synonyms: like fuck, my ass, my arse, my butt, my eye, my foot, my thigh, bullshit
Related terms: as hell, like a bat out of hell, like buggery, like heck, the hell, the hell you say

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.