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
Rosenblatt now lives in a gray, semidetached Victorian house on a somnolent road just off the hurly-burly of a North London high street.
—
John Lahr, New Yorker, 9 Mar. 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
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
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
John Lahr, New Yorker, 9 Mar. 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
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
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
-
Then there was silence, followed by sounds of a commotion.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 June 2026
-
While most of those visitors are coming with good intentions, there’s always the possibility that bad actors will take advantage of the crowds and commotion to cause damage and inflict harm.—
Matthew Adams,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
10 June 2026
Noun
-
Those supporters were left unchallenged by stewards, despite FIFA winning a court hearing enabling them to lawfully prohibit people showing the lion-and-sun flags on the grounds of them carrying a political message and potentially causing disturbances.—
Henry Bushnell,
New York Times,
16 June 2026
-
The coordinated attack left one local police officer, who was responding to a disturbance call at the detention center, shot in the neck.—
Mia Cathell,
The Washington Examiner,
15 June 2026
Noun
-
Belowdecks, a forward bedroom, twin beds aft, a galley, and a full head encourage weekend roaming, while triple Volvo Penta D6 IPS diesels deliver the speed—38 knots top, 28 knots cruise—to get home in a hurry.—
Michael Verdon,
Robb Report,
16 June 2026
-
Healthy in a hurry is possible with this 20-minute lettuce wrap recipe.—
Josh Miller,
Southern Living,
15 June 2026
Noun
-
Years of turmoil presaged the takeover.—
Teri Figueroa,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
18 June 2026
-
In turn, bonds often become less attractive in response to economic turmoil.—
Max Zahn,
ABC News,
17 June 2026
Noun
-
Ukraine’s kit at Euro 2020 also caused a stir because part of its design featured an outline of the country that included Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014 but still widely recognised as part of Ukraine.—
Nick Miller,
New York Times,
17 June 2026
-
The expulsion of five diabetes experts from the American Diabetes Association meeting in New Orleans earlier this week caused quite a stir.—
Alex Hogan,
STAT,
12 June 2026
Noun
-
Most hotels sit behind the main road, often thronged with tourists and traffic noise, but the Regent Shanghai on the Bund gives guests great views without the fuss.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
17 June 2026
-
After 90 years and 900 barns, people continue to arrive to see what the fuss is all about, making its advertising a story unto itself, a milepost of the road-trip journey.—
Judith Garrison,
AJC.com,
16 June 2026
Noun
-
Hikers and walkers should also make noise when out in bear country, especially at dusk and dawn, and dogs should be leashed and supervised.—
Brie Stimson,
FOXNews.com,
14 June 2026
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Ambient sounds, nature recordings, white-noise tracks and ASMR-style content can generate passive income through YouTube, Spotify and other streaming platforms.—
ByBryan Robinson,
Forbes.com,
13 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hurly-burly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hurly-burly. Accessed 19 Jun. 2026.
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