Hail vs. Hell — What's the Difference?

Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It is distinct from ice pellets (American English "sleet"), though the two are often confused.

In religion and folklore, hell is an afterlife location in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, often torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as eternal destinations, the biggest examples of which are Christianity and Islam, whereas religions with reincarnation usually depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations, as is the case in the dharmic religions.

Precipitation in the form of spherical or irregular pellets of ice larger than 5 millimeters (0.2 inch) in diameter, usually associated with thunderstorms.

A place regarded in various religions as a spiritual realm of evil and suffering, often traditionally depicted as a place of perpetual fire beneath the earth where the wicked are punished after death

Something that falls with the force and quantity of a shower of ice and hard snow

Used for emphasis or to express anger, contempt, or surprise

The act of greeting or acclaiming.

Often Hell The place of eternal punishment for the wicked after death, often imagined as being presided over by Satan and his devils.

A shout made to catch someone's attention or to greet.

A state of separation from God; exclusion from God's presence.

Hailing distance

The abode of the dead in any of various religious traditions, such as the Hebrew Sheol or the Greek Hades; the underworld.

To precipitate in pellets of ice and hard snow.

A situation or place of evil, misery, discord, or destruction

To fall like hailstones

An extremely difficult experience; torment or anguish

To pour (something) down or forth

The spirits in hell or the powers of evil

To salute or greet.

(Informal) One that causes trouble, agony, or annoyance

To greet or acclaim enthusiastically

A sharp scolding

To call out or yell in order to catch the attention of

A tailor's receptacle for discarded material.

To signal or call to a passing ship as a greeting or identification.

(Printing) A hellbox.

Used to express a greeting or tribute.

An outstanding or noteworthy example

S or pieces of ice falling as precipitation, often in connection with a thunderstorm.

Used as an intensive

An occurrence of this type of precipitation; a hailstorm.

Used for intensive effect in idioms such as beat the hell out of (someone) for beat (someone) very badly.

A rapid, intense barrage by a large number of projectiles or other objects.

(Archaic) A gambling house.

(impersonal) Of hail, to fall from the sky.

To behave riotously; carouse

(intransitive) To send or release hail.

Used to express anger, disgust, or impatience.

To pour down in rapid succession.

A place of torment where some or all sinners and evil spirits are believed to go after death.

(transitive) To greet; give salutation to; salute.

A place or situation of great suffering in life.

(transitive) To name; to designate; to call.

(countable) A place for gambling.

(transitive) To call out loudly in order to gain the attention of.

(figuratively) An extremely hot place.

To indicate, from a designated stop or otherwise, to the driver of a public transport vehicle that one wishes to board and travel on the vehicle, usually using hand signals such as waving.

Used as an intensifier in phrases grammatically requiring a noun.

(transitive) To signal in order to initiate communication with.

(obsolete) A place into which a tailor throws shreds, or a printer discards broken type.

(obsolete) Healthy, whole, safe.

Something extremely painful or harmful (to)

An exclamation of respectful or reverent salutation, or, occasionally, of familiar greeting.

Used to express discontent, unhappiness, or anger.

Small roundish masses of ice precipitated from the clouds, where they are formed by the congelation of vapor. The separate masses or grains are called hailstones.

Used to emphasize.

A wish of health; a salutation; a loud call.

Used to introduce an intensified statement following an understated one; nay; not only that, but.

To pour down particles of ice, or frozen vapors.

(postpositional) nodot=a or like hell.

To pour forcibly down, as hail.

; used to emphasize strongly.

To call loudly to, or after; to accost; to salute; to address.

To add luster to; to burnish (silver or gold).

To name; to designate; to call.

(rare) To pour.

To declare, by hailing, the port from which a vessel sails or where she is registered; hence, to sail; to come; - used with from; as, the steamer hails from New York.

The place of the dead, or of souls after death; the grave; - called in Hebrew sheol, and by the Greeks hades.

To report as one's home or the place from whence one comes; to come; - with from.

The place or state of punishment for the wicked after death; the abode of evil spirits. Hence, any mental torment; anguish.

Healthy. See Hale (the preferable spelling).

A place where outcast persons or things are gathered

An exclamation of respectful or reverent salutation, or, occasionally, of familiar greeting.

To overwhelm.

Precipitation of ice pellets when there are strong rising air currents

Any place of pain and turmoil;

Enthusiastic greeting

A cause of difficulty and suffering;

Praise vociferously;

(Christianity) the abode of Satan and the forces of evil; where sinners suffer eternal punishment;

Be a native of;

(religion) the world of the dead;

Call for;

Violent and excited activity;

Greet enthusiastically or joyfully

Noisy and unrestrained mischief;

Precipitate as small ice particles;