1
as in down
not being in working order
The website went haywire when it was overloaded with visitors seeking tickets.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in mad
unable to think in a clear or sensible way
She gradually went haywire with grief after the tragic death of her husband.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in uncontrollably
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of haywire
Billy Perrigo, Time, 28 Oct. 2025
The Baltimore Orioles' season went haywire fast after a disappointing offseason that saw ace Corbin Burnes walk, and with no real replacement added to their pitching staff.
—Hunter Mulholland, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for haywire
Adverb
Robot meltdown — The LLMs also sometimes went haywire in unexpected ways.
—Billy Perrigo, Time, 28 Oct. 2025
The Baltimore Orioles' season went haywire fast after a disappointing offseason that saw ace Corbin Burnes walk, and with no real replacement added to their pitching staff.
—Hunter Mulholland, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for haywire
Recent Examples of Synonyms for haywire
Adjective
-
In 1999, there were plenty of sharp down days before the real unwind.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
8 June 2026
-
All three major averages closed out a down week, with the Nasdaq posting the worst week of the year as chip stocks tumbled.—
Sarah Min,
CNBC,
5 June 2026
Adjective
-
The next morning, my feet began to itch like mad.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 June 2026
-
None of that would've been possible without the vision that Clay Travis laid out to me early in 2020 as the world was about to go mad.—
Joe Kinsey OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
6 June 2026
Adverb
-
Hydroplaning happens when a vehicle starts sliding uncontrollably on wet roads.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
9 June 2026
-
Hydroplaning is the term for when a vehicle begins sliding uncontrollably on wet roads.—
KANSAS CITY STAR WEATHER BOT,
Kansas City Star,
9 June 2026
Adjective
-
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office has opened an investigation into the owner of a malfunctioning chemical storage tank in Garden Grove that has forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents as fire crews race to avoid an explosion.—
Sean Emery,
Oc Register,
24 May 2026
-
Despite the accomplishments, Artemis II astronauts had to contend with a more mundane problem -- a malfunctioning space toilet.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
12 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
There’s something extremely psychotic about him.—
Ethan Shanfeld,
Variety,
1 June 2026
-
Mary, our thirtysomething narrator, has recently boomeranged back to her hometown (York) after experiencing a break with reality that may or may not be psychotic.—
Emily Temple,
Literary Hub,
26 May 2026
Adverb
-
The scene used one of the film’s funniest visual gags, an apartment so crazily tilted that nobody inside it could stand up straight.—
Emily Nussbaum,
New Yorker,
17 May 2026
-
And still, crazily enough, there are occasional firsts.—
Dan Woike,
New York Times,
3 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Lemieux left Draper with a fractured jaw, broken cheekbone and a broken nose.—
Dan Robson,
New York Times,
29 May 2026
-
The formula has almond, macadamia, and olive oils to moisturize, plus hydrolyzed keratin to support broken strands.—
Ariel Wodarcyk,
Glamour,
29 May 2026
Adjective
-
Rivians aren’t alone in the realm of insane reports of repair costs.—
Joel Feder,
The Drive,
11 June 2026
-
The whole thing is kind of insane.—
Marlow Stern,
Variety,
10 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Haywire.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/haywire. Accessed 12 Jun. 2026.
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