mare's nest

mare's nest

noun

plural mare's nests or mares' nests

Definition of MARE'S NEST

1

: a false discovery, illusion, or deliberate hoax

2

: a place, condition, or situation of great disorder or confusion <a mare's nest of intrigue and troubles with the money men — William Cole>

Examples of MARE'S NEST

1. <the lack of planning had resulted in the city's evacuation being a mare's nest of epic proportions>

First Known Use of MARE'S NEST

1576

Related to MARE'S NEST

Synonyms: chance-medley, confusion, disarrangement, disarray, dishevelment, disorder, disorderedness, disorderliness, disorganization, free-for-all, havoc, heck, hell, jumble, chaos, mess, messiness, misorder, muddle, muss, shambles, snake pit, tumble, welter

Antonyms: order, orderliness

Related Words: anarchy, lawlessness, misrule, riot; knot, snarl, tangle; labyrinth, maze, web; maelstrom, storm; bollix, clutter, litter, mishmash, shuffle; hodgepodge, medley, miscellany, morass, motley

Near Antonyms: method, pattern, plan, system

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Rhymes with MARE'S NEST

abreast, abscessed, appressed, armrest, arrest, at best, at rest, attest, backrest, beau geste, bed rest, behest, bequest, blood test, congest, conquest, contest, crow's nest, depressed, detest, devest, digest, distressed, divest, egest, eighth rest, field-test, flight-test, footrest, gabfest, half rest, hard-pressed, headrest, high-test, hillcrest, hope chest, houseguest, imprest, incest, infest, ingest, inquest, interest, invest, Key West, lovefest, love nest, Mae West, Midwest, molest, northwest, patch test, posttest, pretest, professed, protest, redbreast, repressed, request, revest, road test, scratch test, screen test, sea chest, skin test, slop chest, slugfest, southwest, spot test, steam chest, stress test, suggest, Trieste, t-test, unblessed, undressed, unrest, unstressed, war chest, whole rest, Wild West