Thesaurus results for MAELSTROM

maelstrom

noun

ˈmāl-strəm

as in vortex

water moving rapidly in a circle with a hollow in the center our rubber raft got caught in a maelstrom in a particularly rough stretch of white water

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 maelstrom New motherhood is always a maelstrom, but the new new motherhood, it has lately been suggested, has become a tempest of a different, close-to-unbearable order. —

Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2026 Swept up in a maelstrom of fame, interpreter Ho-jin becomes her confidant. —

Kayti Burt, Time, 16 Jan. 2026 And the maelstrom surrounding prices and process persists. —

Eric Prisbell, Dallas Morning News, 15 Jan. 2026 The denim sector is no exception to the sourcing shakeups prompted by an evolving tariff regime, and in fact, it’s been caught up in the maelstrom. —

Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 9 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for maelstrom

Recent Examples of Synonyms for maelstrom

vortex

Noun

Researchers believe the ability to manipulate such nanoscale vortices could eventually support ultracompact devices, potentially shrinking magnetic memory or logic components to unprecedented scales.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 3 Mar. 2026
At one vortex, there’s 18th century composer Antonio Salieri, wavering between piety and murderous peevishness.

— Chris Willman, Variety, 27 Feb. 2026