raise hell

English

Pronunciation

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Verb

raise hell (third-person singular simple present raises hell, present participle raising hell, simple past and past participle raised hell)

1. (idiomatic) To cause a considerable disturbance.
   • 2013, Jason Isbell, Super 8:

     Don't want to sleep yet, buddy it's a good bet I'll raise more hell than you.

   • 2022, Marisol Cortez, “Ambivalent Anality: Revisiting the Queer Ecology of "the Jackass Moment"”, in Media+Environment:

     A segment where several cast members in panda suits raise skateboarding hell in the streets of Tokyo.

2. To complain vociferously (about a certain matter).
   • 2022 February 9, Nigel Harris, “Comment: Mounting opposition to IRP”, in RAIL, number 950, page 3:

     Local authorities, media and all other regional stakeholders need to wake up, step up, and (frankly) raise hell... before it's too late.

Synonyms

• raise Cain, raise the roof, raise the devil, raise hob, stir shit

Translations

to cause a disturbance

• Finnish: alkaa riehua
• Hindi: क़हर ढाना (qahar ḍhānā)
• Hungarian: bajt kever, balhézik (hu), balhét csap
• Italian: fare il diavolo a quattro
• Russian: будить лихо (buditʹ lixo)

See also

• hellraiser

References

• “raise hell”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.