1
as in hell
a state in which everything is out of order
computer network problems created havoc throughout the office
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in devastation
the state or fact of being rendered nonexistent, physically unsound, or useless
the powerful hurricane wreaked havoc all along the coast
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to ravage
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of havoc
PC Magazine, 22 May 2025
Plankton: The Movie arrives exclusively on Netflix in 2025.
06 of 06
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants (2025)
Next year SpongeBob returns to theaters with his fourth film, The Search for SquarePants, as Plankton wrecks havoc on Netflix.
—Rendy Jones, EW.com, 2 Aug. 2024
Benjamin Royer, Los Angeles Times, 5 June 2025
Minnesota’s defense could cause havoc for Oklahoma City in the half court, but the Wolves will have to limit their giveaways to keep the Thunder from capitalizing in easy transition.
—Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 18 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for havoc
Noun
Even after hours of fast traveling, horseback riding, and slowly jogging from point A to point B, there were more quests to find, gear to loot, and havoc to wreak.
—PC Magazine, 22 May 2025
Plankton: The Movie arrives exclusively on Netflix in 2025.
06 of 06
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants (2025)
Next year SpongeBob returns to theaters with his fourth film, The Search for SquarePants, as Plankton wrecks havoc on Netflix.
—Rendy Jones, EW.com, 2 Aug. 2024
Verb
Andy Pages scraped a ball off the ground — causing havoc in the Mets’ infield and a throwing error from Brett Baty — allowing Smith to score.
—Benjamin Royer, Los Angeles Times, 5 June 2025
Minnesota’s defense could cause havoc for Oklahoma City in the half court, but the Wolves will have to limit their giveaways to keep the Thunder from capitalizing in easy transition.
—Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 18 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for havoc
Recent Examples of Synonyms for havoc
Noun
-
There’s more pressing current affairs to attend to right now, and hell, there’s a new Lorde album to bop to.—
Savannah Salazar,
Vulture,
27 June 2025
-
Season two saw Valerie cast in an HBO project about the sitcom writer who made her life hell in season one, earning widespread acclaim professionally even as her personal life was falling apart.—
Rick Porter,
HollywoodReporter,
27 June 2025
Verb
-
In Please Don't Feed the Children, Destry's camera follows a group of teenagers on the run in a dystopian United States ravaged by disease.—
Tommy McArdle,
People.com,
25 June 2025
-
Newcomer Alfie Williams breathes new life into the pulsating horror as Spike, a 12-year-old boy who resides on a small British island with a community of survivors, 28 years after the rage virus first ravaged the United Kingdom.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
22 June 2025
Noun
-
Among the chaos is Rupert Friend, playing Martin Krebs, who's assembling a group to take to the scene of the devastation in hopes of extracting DNA from the creatures roaming the island to fund his next medical breakthrough.—
Billie Melissa,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 June 2025
-
Onganía’s rule lasted only a few years before he was deposed and replaced by another general, and soon the political chaos was matched by economic disruption.—
Daniel Alarcón,
New Yorker,
30 June 2025
Noun
-
Leave the innocents, the children, the ones who just want to live a simple life, out of the bombing and destruction.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
25 June 2025
-
The result of these and other assaults, wrote Jed Kolko, a former undersecretary for economic affairs at the Commerce Department overseeing data operations at the Census Bureau and BEA, will include the destruction of trust in U.S. economic data.—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
24 June 2025
Verb
-
While pestilence crept over the walls of cities and the countryside fell into desolation—many foreign conquerors of Europe knew how to fight and plunder but not to plow or sow—the monks preserved words.—
Bernd Roeck
June 16,
Literary Hub,
16 June 2025
-
In the ears of Hollywood traditionalists, A.I. enthusiasts can morph into cartoon pirates arriving to plunder.—
Brooks Barnes,
New York Times,
21 May 2025
Noun
-
Similarly, homeowners who enjoy entertaining might prioritize a scullery or prep kitchen/pantry to keep the party mess out of view.—
Elizabeth Hutchison Hicklin,
Southern Living,
26 June 2025
-
In the wacky political world of Southeast Los Angeles County — where scandals seem to bloom every year with the regularity of jacarandas — there’s never been a mess as pendejo as the one stirred up this week by Cudahy Vice Mayor Cynthia Gonzalez.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
26 June 2025
Noun
-
The push underscores how the president remains fixated on his loss to former President Biden in 2020, even after mounting a political comeback last year to win a second term.—
Cate Martel,
The Hill,
20 June 2025
-
Bad news for the Thunder: Cleveland won at Golden State in the most recent of those and one of the three other home-team losses was in 1978 — by Seattle, the franchise that would move to Oklahoma City three decades later.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
20 June 2025
Verb
-
On Wednesday, aid reached Gaza’s main city for the first time since March after deliveries were plagued by looting and coordination issues between aid agencies and the Israeli military.—
Julia Frankel,
Los Angeles Times,
25 June 2025
-
The statues, stolen from Benin City in modern-day Nigeria, were looted by British troops at the end of the 19th century and sold on to museums across Europe.—
Jeronimo Gonzalez,
semafor.com,
23 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Havoc.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/havoc. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.
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