Meanings
what the hell1
alternative rare whatthehell · alternative rare what the Hell · alternative rare whadda hell · alternative rare wudda hell
- mildlyslangvulgarAn intensive form of what.
What the hell is that?!
5 more examples
What the hell is going on?
What the hell did you do?
What the hell are you?!
What the hell do you want?
What the hell is wrong with you?!
Synonyms: the fuck, the hell, what on earth, what the fuck, what the heck, what the what
- mildlyslangvulgarIndicating acceptance, indulgence, or insouciance: Why not? Who cares?
It’s expensive, but what the hell, you only live once.
4 more examples
Surprisingly, dieters ate more ice cream after eating a large milkshake than after eating a small one. Dr. Polivy calls this the “What the hell” effect, which she describes as thinking “What the hell, my diet’s already broken, so I might as well eat everything in sight.”
i have had my ups and downs / but wotthehell wotthehell / yesterday sceptres and crowns / fried oysters and velvet gowns / and today i herd with bums / but wotthehell wotthehell
1927, Don Marquis, “song of mehitabel”, in archy and mehitabelThen one afternoon he pounced on me and before one could say Jack Robinson his hand was in my shirt. He was so strong! I struggled but his hand kept fishing about in my bra. Then I suddenly thought, “Oh jimminy cricket, what the hell” and gave up the struggle. It was extraordinary, the feeling.
1964, Robin Douglas-Home, chapter 12, in Hot for Certainties, London: Longmans, →OCLC, page 135All my life I've been good / But now I'm thinking, "What the hell"
2011, “What the Hell”, in Goodbye Lullaby, performed by Avril LavigneSynonyms: may as well, might as well, what the heck, what the hey, why not
what the Hell2
- rareRare form of what the hell.
My private library clashes with the rest of the leatherbound decor, but what the Hell.
1996 August, Stephen Dedman, “Never Seen by Waking Eyes”, in Kristine Kathryn Rusch, editor, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, volume 91, number 2, West Cornwall, Conn.: Mercury Press, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 1402 more examples
In short, the merchants with wares to sell / Consider my cash a crime / And keep advising me – what the Hell – / To buy what I need On Time.
1962 April, C. S. Jennison, “I'm Leery of Firms With Easy Terms”, in The Atlantic Monthly, Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic Monthly Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 30 Aug 2025“[…] It is vital that we discover.” / I gave him another smile, a little less bright. “I suppose it is,” I said. And what the Hell, maybe it was. […] But if Gerhand was right about the range requirement, it did look as if we had an oddity on our hands. And what the Hell, oddities do happen.
1999 July–August, Laurence M[ark] Janifer, “GCEA”, in Stanley Schmidt, editor, Analog Science Fiction and Fact, volume CXVIX, numbers 7 and 8, Norwalk, Conn.: Dell Magazines, →ISSN, →OCLC, pages 178 and 186, column 2
Synonyms & antonyms
phraseAn intensive form of what.
phraseIndicating acceptance, indulgence, or insouciance: Why not? Who cares?
Origin
Shortened from earlier what in the hell.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic مَاذَا بِحَقّ اَلسَّمَاء
- مَاذَا بِحَقّ اَلسَّمَاء (māḏā bi-ḥaqq as-samāʔ)an intensive form of what
Bulgarian какво по дяволите
- какво по дяволите (kakvo po djavolite)an intensive form of what
Chinese Cantonese 乜鬼
- 乜鬼 (mat¹ gwai²)an intensive form of what
Chinese Mandarin 什麼鬼 /什么鬼
- 什麼鬼 /什么鬼 (shénme guǐ?)an intensive form of what
Czech co to sakra?, co to k čertu?
- co to sakra?an intensive form of what
- co to k čertu?an intensive form of what
Danish hvad helvede, hvad fanden
- hvad helvedean intensive form of what
- hvad fandenwhy not?
Dutch wat de hel?, wat voor de donder?
- wat de hel?an intensive form of what
- wat voor de donder?an intensive form of what
- wat donder?an intensive form of what
- lekker boeiendwhy not?
- ach schijtwhy not?
Esperanto kio diable
- kio diablean intensive form of what
Finnish mitä helvettiä?, mitä hittoa?
- mitä helvettiä?an intensive form of what
- mitä hittoa?an intensive form of what
- mitä hittoawhy not?
French que diable, pourquoi pas
- que diablean intensive form of what
- pourquoi paswhy not?
German was zum Teufel?, was zur Hölle
- was zum Teufel?an intensive form of what
- was zur Höllean intensive form of what
- was soll'swhy not?
- scheiß draufwhy not?
Greek τι διάολο;, τι στο διάολο;
- τι διάολο; (ti diáolo?)an intensive form of what
- τι στο διάολο; (ti sto diáolo?)an intensive form of what
- τι στο καλό; (ti sto kaló?)an intensive form of what
Hebrew מָה לַעֲזָאזֵל
- מָה לַעֲזָאזֵל (ma laazazél)an intensive form of what
Hungarian mi a fene?, mi az ördög?
- mi a fene?an intensive form of what
- mi az ördög?an intensive form of what
- mi az isten?an intensive form of what
- mi a franc?an intensive form of what
- mi a halál?an intensive form of what
- mi a jó isten?an intensive form of what
- egye fenewhy not?
Icelandic hvað í fjandanum?, hvað í andskotanum?
- hvað í fjandanum?an intensive form of what
- hvað í andskotanum?an intensive form of what
- hvað í helvítinu?an intensive form of what
- skítt með þaðwhy not?
Italian che diavolo? cosa diavolo?, che diavolo
- che diavolo? cosa diavolo?an intensive form of what
- che diavolowhy not?
- perche nowhy not?
Japanese 一体なんだ？, 一体全体なんだ？
- 一体なんだ？ (ittai nan da?)an intensive form of what
- 一体全体なんだ？ (ittai-zentai nan da?)an intensive form of what
- なんだよ、これ？ (nan da yo, kore?)an intensive form of what
Korean 알게 뭐야?
- 알게 뭐야? (alge mwo-ya?)an intensive form of what
Norwegian faen heller, søren heller
- faen hellerwhy not?
- søren hellerwhy not?
Norwegian Bokmål hva i helvete?, hva faen?
- hva i helvete?an intensive form of what
- hva faen?an intensive form of what
- hva i huleste?an intensive form of what
Persian چه مرگته؟, چه مرضته؟
- چه مرگته؟an intensive form of what
- چه مرضته؟an intensive form of what
Polish co do diabła?, co do cholery?
- co do diabła?an intensive form of what
- co do cholery?an intensive form of what
- czemu niewhy not?
Portuguese que diabos?, que raio?
- que diabos?an intensive form of what
- que raio?an intensive form of what
- que se danewhy not?
- dane-sewhy not?
- que se lixewhy not?
Romanian ce dracu, ce naiba
- ce dracuan intensive form of what
- ce naibaan intensive form of what
Russian что за чёрт?, како́го чёрта?
- что за чёрт? (što za čort?)an intensive form of what
- како́го чёрта? (kakóvo čórta?)an intensive form of what
- что за чертовщи́на? (što za čertovščína?)an intensive form of what
- что за фигня́? (što za fignjá?)an intensive form of what
- како́го хре́на? (kakóvo xréna?)an intensive form of what
- како́го ху́я? (kakóvo xúja?)an intensive form of what
- что за хуйня́? (što za xujnjá?)an intensive form of what
- чем чёрт не шу́тит? (čem čort ne šútit?)why not?
- была́ не была́ (bylá ne bylá)why not?
- чёрт с ним (čort s nim)why not?
Spanish qué diablos
- qué diablosan intensive form of what
Swedish vad i helvete?, vad tusan?
- vad i helvete?an intensive form of what
- vad tusan?an intensive form of what
- vad fanan intensive form of what
- vafanan intensive form of what
- vad fanwhy not?
Thai ฉิบหาย
- ฉิบหาย (chìp-hǎai)an intensive form of what
Ukrainian яко́го бі́са?, що за біс?
- яко́го бі́са? (jakóho bísa?)an intensive form of what
- що за біс? (ščo za bis?)an intensive form of what
Vietnamese éo biết, cái quái gì
- éo biếtan intensive form of what
- cái quái gìan intensive form of what
Cite this entry
what the hell. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/what%20the%20hell
“what the hell.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/what%20the%20hell. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “what the hell,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/what%20the%20hell.
Source: what the hell on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.