chaos

noun cha·os \ ˈkā-ˌäs \

Definition of chaos

1 obsolete :chasm, abyss

2 a often capitalized :a state of things in which chance is supreme; especially :the confused unorganized state of primordial matter before the creation of distinct forms — compare cosmos

b :the inherent unpredictability in the behavior of a complex natural system (such as the atmosphere, boiling water, or the beating heart)

3 a :a state of utter confusion

the blackout caused chaos throughout the city

b :a confused mass or mixture

a chaos of television antennas

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chaotic

play \kā-ˈä-tik\ adjective

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chaotically

play \-ti-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

See chaos defined for English-language learners

See chaos defined for kids

Examples of chaos in a Sentence

The loss of electricity caused chaos throughout the city.
When the police arrived, the street was in total chaos.
The country had descended into economic chaos.

Recent Examples of chaos from the Web

But it has also been plagued by the almost comical level of chaos that has been a hallmark of the West Wing since January 20.

— benjamin hart, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump Is Failing to Follow Through on Many of His Worst Ideas," 22 Aug. 2017
A quiet setting, an ideal spot before the chaos of the U.S. Open in New York.

— paul doyle, courant.com, "Navratilova Still Going Strong Celebrating Women's Game," 21 Aug. 2017
Inside me everything is lightening bolts and banshee wails and chaos.

— joanna petrone, Longreads, "Pregnant, then Ruptured," 18 Aug. 2017
Saturday's chaos erupted as neo-Nazis, skinheads, Ku Klux Klan members and other white supremacist groups staged a rally to protest the city of Charlottesville's plans to remove the Lee statue.

— Bloomberg.com, "Man Accused of Ramming Protesters Pictured With Racist Group," 13 Aug. 2017
A woman was killed and dozens were injured when a car rammed into a crowd of counter-protesters, setting off more chaos.

— joe robertson, kansascity, "In the Charlottesville aftermath, people demand to politicians: Call it what it is," 13 Aug. 2017
Quick to note that no university money was spent on the project, hopefully Sir Martyn Poliakoff won't get into too much trouble for the chaos.

— david grossman, Popular Mechanics, "Watch an Old-School Science Experiment Blow Apart a New-School Coin," 4 Aug. 2017
But the chaos of trying to navigate a world alongside a friend—putting barrels in their inventory to slow them down, handing off spells and other essential items, coordinating attacks—elevated a rather ho-hum story into something special.

— hayden dingman, PCWorld, "Divinity: Original Sin II adds split-screen multiplayer, a rarity for PC games," 1 Aug. 2017
QB PRIMER: If Richard Lagow takes next step, so will IU Allen just represents more chaos in Lagow's long journey.

— brody miller, The Courier-Journal, "Pout or grow? What Richard Lagow learned from his lowest point," 25 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'chaos.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of chaos

Latin, from Greek — more at gum

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

chaos Synonyms

Synonyms

chance-medley, confusion, disarrangement, disarray, dishevelment, disorder, disorderedness, disorderliness, disorganization, free-for-all, havoc, heck, hell, jumble, mare's nest, 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

CHAOS Defined for English Language Learners

chaos

noun

Definition of chaos for English Language Learners

: complete confusion and disorder : a state in which behavior and events are not controlled by anything
: the state of the universe before there was any order and before stars and planets were formed