Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

helluva

/ˈhɛləvə/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.84 in modern English

Syllables: hel-lu-va
IPA: /ˈhɛləvə/

13

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

3

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

(A) hell of a; extreme.

Colloquial

adv

; (expletive) (A) hell of a; extremely or very.

Colloquial

Example Sentences

"They had a helluva row over where to spend the weekend."
"Where were you? - Lost in Paris. - Wow! Helluva place to get lost!"
"Well, I got a Muppet News Flash for you, pal; it is possible for a three-year-old girl who loves to watch ducks and collect sea shells to feel bad, and then a bit worse, and then a whole helluva lot worse, and finally lousy in a way that requires machines and tubes and pills and catheters and before you know it you’re sitting in the front pew at good ol’ St. Fracis de Sales Church on Granville Street along with your wife and parents and inlaws and X-amount of your balding schoolboy chums listening to some second-rate organist eviscerate Bach’s “Sheep May Safely Graze”[…]"
"We had a helluva good time at the party."

Etymology

Written form of a reduction (relaxed pronunciation) of hell of a.

Usage

Colloquial

Derived Forms

helluvalot

Frequently Paired Words

hella helluv heckuva

Homonyms

hell of a

Rhymes With

uva suva heckuva duva

Questions

How do you pronounce helluva?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈhɛləvə/.
What does helluva mean?: (A) hell of a; extreme.
Where does helluva come from?: Written form of a reduction (relaxed pronunciation) of hell of a.

How to pronounce helluva

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “helluva”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈhɛləvə/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “helluva”.
Repeat and practice — Say “helluva” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.