as in commotion
a state of noisy, confused activity
lost sight of his children in all the hurly-burly of the fair
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Recent Examples of hurly-burly
But mostly for my parents, who had worked so hard for so many years to create a refuge from the hurly-burly of the outside world.
—
James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 12 Jan. 2025
Mustard admires the fact that, rather than engage in the hurly-burly of social media, Lamar will disappear from public view for long stretches of time.
—Tribune News Service, Boston Herald, 22 Aug. 2024
Trump Has Promised to Do in a Second Term
Compounding all of this household hurly-burly is the fact that Suada has stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 3 Apr. 2024
The image’s low contrast and lack of sharpness suggest that it was snapped from the hurly-burly of the piazza.
—Paul Elie, The New Yorker, 14 Nov. 2023
He is considered a must-follow in the hurly-burly community known as Crypto Twitter for his informed takes on legal and regulatory news.
—Jeff John Roberts, Fortune Crypto, 3 Oct. 2023
In the hurly-burly of a modern economy, people are constantly being hurt by economic changes beyond their control.
—Alan S. Blinder, Foreign Affairs, 11 Dec. 2018
James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 12 Jan. 2025
Mustard admires the fact that, rather than engage in the hurly-burly of social media, Lamar will disappear from public view for long stretches of time.
—Tribune News Service, Boston Herald, 22 Aug. 2024
Trump Has Promised to Do in a Second Term
Compounding all of this household hurly-burly is the fact that Suada has stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 3 Apr. 2024
The image’s low contrast and lack of sharpness suggest that it was snapped from the hurly-burly of the piazza.
—Paul Elie, The New Yorker, 14 Nov. 2023
He is considered a must-follow in the hurly-burly community known as Crypto Twitter for his informed takes on legal and regulatory news.
—Jeff John Roberts, Fortune Crypto, 3 Oct. 2023
In the hurly-burly of a modern economy, people are constantly being hurt by economic changes beyond their control.
—Alan S. Blinder, Foreign Affairs, 11 Dec. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hurly-burly
Noun
-
Was the Queen of Pop merely causing a commotion?—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
9 Oct. 2025
-
In the commotion, Josie became separated from the group.—
Georgea Kovanis,
Freep.com,
5 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The popular Bandai Namco childlike-horror franchise Little Nightmares is back and with more disturbances in tow.—
Destiny Jackson,
Deadline,
10 Oct. 2025
-
Once formed, these waves can travel across entire ocean basins, radiating outward from the point of disturbance and impacting coastlines far from the origin.—
Shane Croucher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Brandon Arrington, the fastest high school runner in the state, is in a hurry — to graduate.—
Steve Brand,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
9 Oct. 2025
-
Now, Trinity will need to turn things around in a hurry to salvage its season.—
Charles Baggarly,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
9 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The Treasury secretary announced a lifeline Thursday that’s designed to pull the country’s financial markets out of deepening turmoil, and a close political ally out of a hole.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
12 Oct. 2025
-
The coins reflect a time of turmoil Archaeologists have confirmed that the coins mainly date to the 12th century.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
To make the stir fry sauce, in a small bowl, whisk together the broth (or water), soy sauce, brown sugar, Shaoxing wine (or more broth), cornstarch, sesame oil, ginger and garlic.—
Robin Miller,
AZCentral.com,
9 Oct. 2025
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The bakery aisle of the megastore caused quite a stir back in March when Costco introduced a new carrot cake.—
Sabrina Weiss,
PEOPLE,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Fazit Looking to level up your makeup without the fuss?—
Annie Blackman,
Allure,
9 Oct. 2025
-
The Gurtha metal platform bed skips the fuss (and the box spring) for a low, architectural silhouette that feels modern without trying too hard.—
Bailey Berg,
Architectural Digest,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Visitors also discovered a Zen Room with agarwood scents, cushions and bell chimes, offering a tranquil pause before returning to the bustle of Paris.—
Footwear News,
Footwear News,
15 Oct. 2025
-
Borve The kind of home that lowers your blood pressure, this cottage for two sits close to the shoreline within the Scottish Highlands, away from the bustle of the cities.—
Nicole Kliest,
Vogue,
12 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hurly-burly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hurly-burly. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.
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