hurly-burly

noun

ˌhər-lē-ˈbər-lē How to pronounce hurly-burly (audio)
Definition of hurly-burlynext
as in commotion
a state of noisy, confused activity lost sight of his children in all the hurly-burly of the fair

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hurly-burly According to the listing, the estate was custom built for the princess, with horse corrals, large stretches of usable land, and enough seclusion to feel removed from the hurly-burly of Los Angeles. — Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 4 Aug. 2026 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 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 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
  1. commotion
  2. disturbance
  3. hurry
  4. turmoil
  5. stir
  6. fuss
Noun
  • In the commotion, she was briefly separated from her 85-year-old mother, who lives with her.
    — Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026
  • That allowed passengers to hear the commotion and discover what was happening.
    — Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of commotion
Noun
  • Gary Griggs, a geologist at UC Santa Cruz, said the elevated water levels are linked to El Niño conditions and ocean disturbances known as Kelvin waves.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Sleep disturbances are common in depression, and night owls (who tend to get less sleep than early birds) are likely to have more and worse depressive symptoms.
    — Payal Dhar, Scientific American, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of disturbance
Noun
  • The Tigers only had six QB hurries, partly due to Jackson escaping the pocket and firing balls out quickly.
    — PJ Green November 1, Kansas City Star, 1 Nov. 2026
  • Defensive tackle Will Echoles consistently disrupted the Missouri offensive front for five tackles, two broken up passes, one sack and one quarterback hurry.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of hurry
Noun
  • Bass has talked up the city’s drop in violent crime, including a 47% reduction in homicides, and warned that Raman’s plan to remove the police chief would throw the LAPD into turmoil right before the Olympics.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2026
  • Strict controls on capital flows limit foreign investors’ participation in Chinese markets, reducing the possibility that turmoil could spread internationally.
    — John Liu, CNN Money, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of turmoil
Noun
  • But even just the destruction of one mural was enough to cause a stir online.
    — Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 28 Oct. 2026
  • The video caused a mild, wholesome stir, but a stir nonetheless.
    — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of stir
Noun
  • After a marathon journey involving three connecting flights to reach Glasgow—and coming off the back of a particularly hectic week that had left me feeling a little under the weather—the lack of fuss was firmly appreciated.
    — Liam Hess, Vogue, 3 Nov. 2026
  • Their clients, like the classic Vegas-chapel clientele, didn’t want the fuss of a giant ceremony or just didn’t have the guests.
    — Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of fuss

Browse Nearby Words

hurly-burlies
hurly-burly
hurrah
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Hurly-burly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hurly-burly. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of quondam

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Old-Timey Vehicles

The Words of the Week - Nov. 6

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All