mayhem

noun

may·​hem ˈmā-ˌhem  ˈmā-əm 

plural mayhems

1

: needless or willful damage or violence

movies filled with murder and mayhem

2

a

: willful and permanent deprivation of a body part resulting in the impairment of a person's fighting ability

b

: willful and permanent disabling, mutilation, or disfigurement of any part of the body

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Mayhem Has Legal Roots

Legally speaking, mayhem refers to the gruesome crime of deliberately causing an injury that permanently disfigures another. The name derives via Middle English from the Anglo-French verb maheimer ("to maim") and is probably of Germanic origin; the English verb maim comes from the same ancestor. The disfigurement sense of mayhem first appeared in English in the 15th century. By the 19th century the word had come to mean any kind of violent behavior; nowadays, mayhem can be used to suggest any kind of chaos or disorder, as in "there was mayhem in the streets during the citywide blackout."

Examples of mayhem in a Sentence

movies filled with murder and mayhem

a criminal who escaped from prison and caused mayhem

Recent Examples on the Web

The voice inside Boy’s head comes courtesy of comedian Jon Benjamin, which purposefully blurs the line between revenge-flick mayhem and a sort of Adult Swim parody of revenge-flick mayhem. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 23 Apr. 2024

Don’t let the violent mayhem and casual nature fool you, there’s real skill and craftsmanship at work here. —Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 17 Apr. 2024

The mayhem includes murder, cryptocurrency, bribery and blackmail. —Sarah Lyall, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2024

There are more creatures this time, and a lot more mayhem — more dismemberings and decapitations and face gougings, especially during the climactic rave sequence, which lays waste to everyone on the dance floor. —Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 27 Mar. 2024

On March 29, 2013, Keen was sentenced to 25 years for a conviction of mayhem in Riverside County. —Rosalio Ahumada, Sacramento Bee, 12 Apr. 2024

In fact, while Angus sought funding for their project, Caceres was targeting another foreign adversary to show the full extent of the cyber mayhem a small team could inflict. —Andy Greenberg, WIRED, 4 Apr. 2024

The bizarre casting and bad CGI don’t help, but the film’s biggest flaw is that director Roland Emmerich fails to understand what people do like about Godzilla, turning the concept into just another disaster movie with none of the monster mayhem fans love. —Katie Rife, EW.com, 28 Mar. 2024

His wild guitar and back-up vocals add the right touch of electric mayhem, while the band adds flourishes of banjo and pedal steel. —Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 21 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English mayme, mahaime, from Anglo-French mahaim mutilation, mayhem, from maheimer, mahaigner to maim, probably of Germanic origin; akin to Middle High German meiden gelding, Old Norse meitha to injure

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2a

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Kids Definition

mayhem

noun

may·​hem ˈmā-ˌhem  ˈmā-əm 

1

: deliberate permanent crippling or injury of any part of the body

2

: needless or willful damage or violence

Medical Definition

mayhem

noun

may·​hem ˈmā-ˌhem  ˈmā-əm 

: willful and permanent crippling, mutilation, or disfiguring of any part of another's body

also : the crime of engaging in mayhem

physicians, accused … of sterilizing her through trickery, were ordered held for trial on charges of conspiracy to commit mayhem

—Associated Press

Legal Definition

mayhem

noun

may·​hem ˈmā-ˌhem, -əm 

: willful and permanent crippling, mutilation, or disfigurement of any part of another's body

also : the crime of engaging in mayhem

Note: Under the Model Penal Code and the codes of the states that follow it, mayhem is encompassed by assault and aggravated assault.

Etymology

Anglo-French mahaim mahain, literally, mutilation, from Old French mahain, from mahaignier to injure, mutilate