1
: marked by chaos or being in a state of chaos : completely confused or disordered
a chaotic political race
After he became famous, his life became even more chaotic.
They may look chaotic and barbaric, but scrums are a critical and strategic part of the game, and they unfold and escalate according to hockey's venerated, unwritten rules of engagement.—
David Fleming
David FlemingTo the uninitiated visitor, the seemingly chaotic energy of a typical Thai market may give the impression of a free-for-all, …—Diane Ruengsom
Diane Ruengsom2
mathematics
: having outcomes that can vary widely due to extremely small changes in initial conditions
In other words, what comes out of the program's equations is extremely sensitive to what goes in. And that, as any mathematician would recognize, is one of the hallmarks of chaotic systems.—Ingrid Wickelgren
Ingrid WickelgrenA physical system—a weather system, say—is chaotic if a very slight change in initial conditions sends the system off on a very different course.—Physics Today
Physics TodayExamples of chaotic in a Sentence
a chaotic cellar sorely in need of some straightening up
Recent Examples on the Web
This has created a chaotic transition period, potentially hurting engineers who are reluctant to use AI or struggle to keep up with the technology.
—Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Money, 8 Apr. 2026
OpenAI is chaotic, even by Silicon Valley startup standards, so the palace intrigue chronicled by The New Yorkers’ 10,000-word opus is table stakes.
—Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 8 Apr. 2026
His obsession was figuring out how to make life in a market economy less chaotic.
—Alex Mayyasi, NPR, 7 Apr. 2026
Recent events have drawn large crowds to neighborhoods including downtown and Hyde Park, with activity ranging from social gatherings to more chaotic crowd movement.
—Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 7 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for chaotic
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Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Money, 8 Apr. 2026
OpenAI is chaotic, even by Silicon Valley startup standards, so the palace intrigue chronicled by The New Yorkers’ 10,000-word opus is table stakes.
—Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 8 Apr. 2026
His obsession was figuring out how to make life in a market economy less chaotic.
—Alex Mayyasi, NPR, 7 Apr. 2026
Recent events have drawn large crowds to neighborhoods including downtown and Hyde Park, with activity ranging from social gatherings to more chaotic crowd movement.
—Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 7 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for chaotic
Cite this Entry
“Chaotic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chaotic. Accessed 13 Apr. 2026.
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