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
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Recent Examples of maelstrom
Now, under intense pressure from City Hall, these 11 beholden board members want to throw a school system that has endured more than its share of chaos back into the financial maelstrom.
—
The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 17 Aug. 2025
Yes, Hayden Birdsong is caught in a developmental maelstrom right now, and Kyle Harrison is currently on the Pawtucket Red Sox, but Landen Roupp has been stellar.
—Grant Brisbee, New York Times, 25 July 2025
What followed was a maelstrom: insurgency, sectarian bloodshed, and the birth of ISIS.
—Nicholas Creel, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 July 2025
The horrific tragedy arrived in the midst of a maelstrom already brewing over the National Weather Service, its parent agency and the Trump administration’s budget cuts.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 8 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for maelstrom
The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 17 Aug. 2025
Yes, Hayden Birdsong is caught in a developmental maelstrom right now, and Kyle Harrison is currently on the Pawtucket Red Sox, but Landen Roupp has been stellar.
—Grant Brisbee, New York Times, 25 July 2025
What followed was a maelstrom: insurgency, sectarian bloodshed, and the birth of ISIS.
—Nicholas Creel, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 July 2025
The horrific tragedy arrived in the midst of a maelstrom already brewing over the National Weather Service, its parent agency and the Trump administration’s budget cuts.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 8 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for maelstrom
Recent Examples of Synonyms for maelstrom
vortex
Noun
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Atmospheric scientists model it as a standing wave pattern in a fast polar jet, with wind speeds of roughly 300–330 mph circling a hurricane-like vortex at the pole.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
4 Sep. 2025
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Warned To Avoid Sun Amid 'Dangerously Hot Conditions' The National Weather Service explains that the polar vortex is a persistent low-pressure system of cold air around the Earth's poles.—
Joe Edwards,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Maelstrom.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/maelstrom. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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