commotion

com·mo·tion

noun \kə-ˈmō-shən\

Definition of COMMOTION

1

: a condition of civil unrest or insurrection

2

: steady or recurrent motion

3

: mental excitement or confusion

4

a : an agitated disturbance : to-do

b : noisy confusion : agitation

Examples of COMMOTION

1. There was a sudden commotion when the actress entered the restaurant.
2. <the commotion created when the nation's top rock band arrived in town>

Origin of COMMOTION

Middle English, from Anglo-French commocion, from Latin commotion-, commotio, from commovēre

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to COMMOTION

Synonyms

ado, alarums and excursions, ballyhoo, blather, bluster, bobbery, bother, bustle, clatter, clutter [chiefly dialect], coil, corroboree [Australian], disturbance, do [chiefly dialect], foofaraw, fun, furor, furore, fuss, helter-skelter, hoo-ha (also hoo-hah), hoopla, hubble-bubble, hubbub, hullabaloo, hurly, hurly-burly, hurricane, hurry, hurry-scurry (or hurry-skurry), kerfuffle [chiefly British], moil, pandemonium, pother, row, ruckus, ruction, rumpus, shindy, splore [Scottish], squall, stew, stir, storm, to-do, tumult, turmoil, uproar, welter, whirl, williwaw, zoo

Related Words

cacophony, clamor, din, howl, hue and cry, noise, outcry, racket, roar; disorder, unrest, upheaval; eruption, flare-up, flurry, flutter, outbreak, outburst; brawl, fracas, fray, hassle, melee (also mêlée), scuffle; dither, fever, fret, lather, tizzy

Near Antonyms

calm, hush, peace, quiet, quietude, rest, stillness, tranquillity (or tranquility); order, orderliness

Rhymes with COMMOTION

Boeotian, demotion, devotion, emotion, in motion, Laotian, promotion, slow-motion, stop-motion