chaos

noun

ˈkā-ˌäs How to pronounce chaos (audio)
Definition of chaosnext
as in havoc
a state in which everything is out of order the boy's room is in such chaos that it looks as though a tornado had struck

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of chaos But the chaos of the day started hours earlier when Red Wings coach Todd McLellan announced that center Dylan Larkin would not play. — Kalen Lumpkins, Chicago Tribune, 30 Oct. 2026 As the chamber devolved into chaos, fellow opposition members surrounded Berisha, holding blue flares, the official color of their party, and displaying images of protesters injured by police rubber bullets. — Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 29 Oct. 2026 Now any chaos is on American streets, where violent and even deadly clashes have defined a deportation campaign that's designed to fulfill hardliners' goals of uprooting anyone in the country illegally. — ABC News, 29 Oct. 2026 Americans are seeing chaos and rioting on the streets of Paris. — Arkansas Online, 29 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for chaos
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chaos
  1. havoc
  2. mess
  3. jumble
  4. confusion
  5. hell
  6. disorder
Noun
  • The Heat’s defense created havoc, forcing the Hawks into 15 turnovers.
    — Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 29 Oct. 2026
  • Amid the havoc, the children flee into an enclosure, their teacher slamming the door from the outside.
    — Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of havoc
Noun
  • In the city of Hurricane in far southwestern Utah, a shipping container drifting down a street gave way Friday to a mess of mud and debris to be cleaned up as people who had evacuated earlier in the week returned home.
    — MEAD GRUVER, Arkansas Online, 24 Oct. 2026
  • General manager Les Snead is also culpable for this mess of a season, trading for Myles Garrett, who has done absolutely zero for this team.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of mess
Noun
  • Arches and natural bridges sweep like buttresses from jumbles of rock, giving this landscape a mystical, cathedral-like quality.
    — Madison Chapman, Outside, 25 Mar. 2026
  • Macaroons are chewy jumbles of coconut bound together with egg whites and sweetened condensed milk.
    — Lynda Balslev, Mercury News, 10 Feb. 2026
Definition of jumble
Noun
  • Almeida said Election Day confusion is possible in some precincts but the nature of the threat requires a collective effort.
    — STEVE PEOPLES, Arkansas Online, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Lula’s victory followed confusion at polling places after Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin ordered a last-minute, two-hour extension of voting nationwide.
    — David Unsworth , Michael Sinkewicz, FOXNews.com, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of confusion
Noun
  • The careerist has also made life hell for Erika and her family.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Time is running out for a Republican Party led astray by a president whose treacherous behavior mimics those assigned to the lowest level of Dante’s hell.
    — Bob Kustra, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of hell
Noun
  • Lewy body dementia symptoms tend to start with rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder, such as screaming or kicking during sleep.
    — Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Patients diagnosed with all types of conditions and disorders are forced to endure all types of abuses.
    — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of disorder

Browse Nearby Words

chants
chaos
chaoses
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Cite this Entry

“Chaos.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chaos. Accessed 31 Oct. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on chaos

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about chaos

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