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
-
Early Thursday morning, a neighbor came outside to commotion on her street in Columbia Heights, Minnesota.—
Conor Wight,
CBS News,
30 Jan. 2026
-
What's all the commotion about?—
Gabrielle Emanuel,
NPR,
30 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Drinking has been found to increase the risk of many cancers, metabolic dysfunction, gut microbiome disturbances and mitochondrial toxins, Hyman said.—
Angelica Stabile,
FOXNews.com,
26 Jan. 2026
-
However, these components proved too vulnerable to the extreme conditions, including intense shock waves and aerodynamic disturbances at low altitudes.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
But that changed in hurry as Evans, who played high school basketball just north of Charlotte, began to heat up with four 3-pointers helping the Blue Devils open a 26-17 lead.—
Lia Assimakopoulos,
Dallas Morning News,
27 Jan. 2026
-
But with potential coaching candidates like Mike Tomlin and Sean McDermott joining the coaching carousel in 2027, the pressure is on Glenn and the Jets to get their defense and team turned around in a hurry.—
Antwan Staley,
New York Daily News,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The head of artistic programming at the Kennedy Center abruptly stepped away from his post less than two weeks after he was named to the job in the latest sign of turmoil at the iconic performing arts venue.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Sports technology transactions thrived in 2025, despite the advent of tariffs, a government shutdown and geopolitical turmoil.—
Luisa Beltran,
Sportico.com,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
After a disappointing 1-0 defeat against Chelsea on November 1, a scoreline that does not reflect Tottenham’s ineptitude that day, Van de Ven and Djed Spence caused a stir by ignoring Frank’s attempts to keep the duo on the pitch to applaud the fans at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.—
Elias Burke,
New York Times,
16 Jan. 2026
-
For Indiana’s part, their Heisman-winning quarterback, Fernando Mendoza, grew up in the 305, so his grand return to the city is also causing a stir among locals.—
Nicole Hoey,
Robb Report,
16 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Not to mention, this bouncy style can take you from day to night without any fuss.—
Krista Carter,
InStyle,
27 Jan. 2026
-
The Hurricanes, and their fans, will get to see firsthand what all the fuss is about.—
Michelle Kaufman,
Miami Herald,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
There’s also the noise issue, and the somewhat awkward reality of spinning rotors whirring dangerously above people in public places.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
31 Jan. 2026
-
The neighborhood/area Uptown Sedona sits just above L’Auberge, keeping guests sheltered from traffic and tourists, but construction noise from buildings along 89A can filter down to the rooms.—
Asonta Benetti,
Condé Nast Traveler,
31 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hurly-burly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hurly-burly. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.
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