1
as in malfunctioning
not being in working order
The website went haywire when it was overloaded with visitors seeking tickets.
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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 amuck
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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
Adjective
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
-
Its Care Team members replicate the roles of Apple Geniuses, helping people who come in with malfunctioning devices or other troubles.—
Julio Ojeda-Zapata,
Twin Cities,
24 Oct. 2025
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Another set piece involving a malfunctioning chair lift is excruciatingly tense.—
Emily Palmer Heller,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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After 55 years based in Munich, ISPO, one of the world’s largest sporting goods trade fairs and an annual fixture in the sports-mad German city, is moving out.—
Cathrin Schaer,
Footwear News,
28 Oct. 2025
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Elordi's version of the mad scientist's monster boasts pale skin covered in scars, an alarming absence of eyebrows, and ratty dark hair extending past his shoulders.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
25 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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After a couple of down years, blockbuster IPOs have come back this year.—
Nicholas Gordon,
Fortune,
29 Oct. 2025
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After a relatively down campaign for the Blue Jays in the regular season, Scherzer recaptured some of his old form in a strong outing against the Seattle Mariners in the American League Championship Series.—
Peter Chawaga,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Norman Mailer achieved a similar thing in his non-fiction novel about Gary Gilmore The Executioner’s Song—although, by the time the book was published in 1979, the seedy, psychotic world of Gilmore and his two girlfriends, Nicole and April Baker, hardly came as a revelation.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Oct. 2025
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Since its introduction in 2022, only people with schizophrenia and other limited psychotic disorders have had access to the program.—
CalMatters,
Oc Register,
16 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
Meanwhile, her mom and aunt can be heard laughing uncontrollably behind the camera.—
Lucy Notarantonio,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Oct. 2025
-
The best anecdote is one about the film’s sneak preview in Pasadena where the audience, expecting another Exorcist, started laughing uncontrollably at what was on screen.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The series follows the slow and halting coming together of Noah, reeling from a broken relationship, and Joanne (Kristen Bell), an agnostic podcaster with seemingly little in common with the spiritual leader.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Oct. 2025
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McQueen’s set covered a broken engagement and entering the dating pool as a newly single guy as Sweeney and Braun held hands under the table and sipped on bottles of water.—
Chris Gardner,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The sanity phase of his trial began Thursday to determine whether Nicholson was legally insane at the time of the murders.—
Stepheny Price,
FOXNews.com,
23 Oct. 2025
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This lockdown is insane & disturbing with what happened during our investigation.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
22 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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Granted, by the time the Jet Skis are swinging crazily in the air, Nathan has only been onboard for a few hours.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
7 Oct. 2025
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That seems like a crazily low number of songs.—
Carson Blackwelder,
People.com,
15 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Haywire.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/haywire. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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