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
-
Consumer staples is the only other down sector in April, lower by just 1%.—
Jason Gewirtz,
CNBC,
16 Apr. 2026
-
This should be a down-payment on funding for fighting addiction in Boston and beyond.—
Boston Herald editorial staff,
Boston Herald,
15 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
With the greatest opening day crowd in the history of Atlanta and the Southern league cheering in a mad, thunderous crescendo, the Atlanta Crackers reached something approaching an apogee of playing perfection yesterday to turn back the Knoxville Smokies, 9 to 0.—
AJ Willingham,
AJC.com,
17 Apr. 2026
-
The president of the United States is stark-raving mad.—
Robert B. Reich,
Hartford Courant,
16 Apr. 2026
Adverb
-
Hydroplaning happens when a vehicle starts sliding uncontrollably on wet roads.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
19 Apr. 2026
-
Hydroplaning occurs when a vehicle begins to slide uncontrollably on wet roads.—
KANSAS CITY STAR WEATHER BOT,
Kansas City Star,
17 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
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
-
Despite the accomplishments, Artemis II astronauts had to contend with a more mundane problem — a malfunctioning space toilet.—
Marcia Dunn,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Philip Seymour Hoffman played him on Broadway as a near-psychotic, his philandering very much to blame for the fall of his elder son, Biff.—
Chris Jones,
New York Daily News,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Less commonly, some people experience psychotic symptoms, suicidal thoughts, anxiety, paranoia, confusion or emotional distress.—
Hollis Karoly,
The Conversation,
9 Apr. 2026
Adverb
-
Thanks to a crazily unlikely accident, the researchers had witnessed a sperm-whale birth and had managed to videotape the entire event.—
Elizabeth Kolbert,
New Yorker,
26 Mar. 2026
-
And still, crazily enough, there are occasional firsts.—
Dan Woike,
New York Times,
3 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Winton, the class clown and semi-pariah who fits the stereotype of the clingy, maladjusted product of a broken home.—
Jean Garnett,
New Yorker,
18 Apr. 2026
-
Troopers responded to the area and found broken glass from the front door of the God's Grace Missionary Baptist Church.—
DeJanay Booth-Singleton,
CBS News,
17 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
In an insane society, this is a project of years, not weeks.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Apr. 2026
-
If jurors do decide that Fahim was insane at the time of the killings, he would likely be sent to a state hospital for mental health treatment.—
Sean Emery,
Oc Register,
14 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Haywire.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/haywire. Accessed 24 Apr. 2026.
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