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
Anyier Anei is Ada, a newbie model from South Sudan by way of Kenya, wide-eyed and hungry as she’s tossed into a maelstrom of haughty men and clubgoing sisters in strutting.
—
Richard Lawson, IndieWire, 7 Sep. 2025
The political maelstrom caught the attention of Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, who capitalized on the drama over the cellphone legislation to make a pitch for his independent campaign to be Michigan's next governor.
—Clara Hendrickson, Freep.com, 3 Sep. 2025
If Edwards is a maelstrom, Hastings is a sea of calm.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2025
The termination of Monarez and the resignation of other senior officials has sparked a maelstrom of controversy and a protest of hundreds of people outside the CDC’s Atlanta campus Thursday.
—The Hill, 29 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for maelstrom
Richard Lawson, IndieWire, 7 Sep. 2025
The political maelstrom caught the attention of Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, who capitalized on the drama over the cellphone legislation to make a pitch for his independent campaign to be Michigan's next governor.
—Clara Hendrickson, Freep.com, 3 Sep. 2025
If Edwards is a maelstrom, Hastings is a sea of calm.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2025
The termination of Monarez and the resignation of other senior officials has sparked a maelstrom of controversy and a protest of hundreds of people outside the CDC’s Atlanta campus Thursday.
—The Hill, 29 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for maelstrom
Recent Examples of Synonyms for maelstrom
vortex
Noun
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These vortices are called flux ropes, and satellites had previously observed small flux ropes—but our work helped uncover how they are generated.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
24 Oct. 2025
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The combination of flux-carrying B-L strings and superfluid-like PQ vortices could allow for the emergence of stable knot solitons.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
23 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Maelstrom.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/maelstrom. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.
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