chaotic

adjective

cha·​ot·​ic kā-ˈä-tik 

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

To the uninitiated visitor, the seemingly chaotic energy of a typical Thai market may give the impression of a free-for-all, …

—Diane Ruengsom

2

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

A 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

chaotically

kā-ˈä-ti-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

a chaotically busy scene

Synonyms

• cluttered
• confused
• disarranged
• disarrayed
• disheveled
• dishevelled
• disordered
• disorderly
• higgledy-piggledy
• hugger-mugger
• jumbled
• littered
• messed
• messy
• muddled
• mussed
• mussy
• pell-mell
• rumpled
• sloppy
• topsy-turvy
• tousled
• tumbled
• unkempt
• untidy
• upside-down

Examples of chaotic in a Sentence

a chaotic cellar sorely in need of some straightening up

Recent Examples on the Web

In the chaotic hours after former president Donald Trump was spirited offstage Saturday by Secret Service agents, his face streaked with blood, a doctored photo of the scene began bouncing around on X, falsely showing Trump with a wide smile. —Cat Zakrzewski, Washington Post, 15 July 2024

Violent, chaotic images remain ingrained in our minds after Saturday's historic shooting at a presidential campaign rally in rural Pennsylvania. —Susan Tompor, Detroit Free Press, 15 July 2024

Sadly, this tournament will also be remembered for the ugly images of a brawl in the stands at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte and a chaotic, dangerous security breach by unticketed fans at Hard Rock Stadium on the night of the final. —Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 15 July 2024

Eyewitnesses in media interviews described a chaotic scene as shots rang out. —Bloomberg, The Mercury News, 15 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1688, in the meaning defined at sense 1