hell of a

/ˈhɛləvə/

adjective

Intensifier; indicates that someone or something is especially good, bad, difficult, etc.

“Well done! That's a hell of an achievement!”

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Meanings

adjectivehell of a (not comparable)
  1. colloquialnot comparablevulgarIntensifier; indicates that someone or something is especially good, bad, difficult, etc.

    Well done! That's a hell of an achievement!

    4 more examples

    She had a hell of a time trying to open the jar. In the end she gave up: it was one hell of a cover.

    Where were you? / I got lost in the woods. / Wow! Hell of a place to get lost!

    Yeah, this was one hell of a party / Nobody ever got to bed / But the morning after's killing me / And I have to rest my head

    2007, “One Hell of a Party”, in Pocket Symphony, performed by Air ft. Jarvis Cocker

    "You’re asking too many questions. Look. You’re a cute kid. I mean, you’re a hell of a chick. You’re a knockout. But don’t go thinking you’re too important at this stage."

    2011, Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash, Penguin Books, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 168

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
fine

Translations

French d'enfer, sacré
  • d'enferintensifier: especially (good, bad, difficult etc.)
  • sacréintensifier: especially (good, bad, difficult etc.)
Hebrew חֲתִיכַת
  • חֲתִיכַת (ḥatichát)intensifier: especially (good, bad, difficult etc.)
Hungarian nem semmi
  • nem semmiintensifier: especially (good, bad, difficult etc.)
Polish cholerny
  • cholernyintensifier: especially (good, bad, difficult etc.)
Cite this entry
APA

hell of a. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hell%20of%20a

MLA

“hell of a.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hell%20of%20a. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hell of a,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hell%20of%20a.

Source: hell of a on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.