mare's nest

noun

Definition of mare's nestnext
as in hell
a state in which everything is out of order the lack of planning had resulted in the city's evacuation being a mare's nest of epic proportions

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for mare's nest
  1. hell
  2. havoc
  3. mess
  4. jumble
  5. chaos
  6. confusion
  7. snake pit
  8. disorder
Noun
  • Minamoto Yoshitsune was a strategist who went to hell and took it over, defeating the Oni who guarded hell.
    — Gieson Cacho, Mercury News, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Goldberg has long been open about attempting to get another Sister Act movie off the ground, with Goldberg even previously listing Palmer as part of her dream cast for Sister Act 3, which has been stuck in development hell for years.
    — Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of hell
Noun
  • The tropical storm hit Japan days after Typhoon Dolphin created havoc in parts of southern Japan, paralyzing traffic and sending hundreds to take shelter.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 11 Aug. 2026
  • At the center of the effort was sixth-year linebacker Nick Bolton, the quarterback of the unit, who focused on galvanizing the troops to create havoc and slow down an offense that had been humming earlier in the frame.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of havoc
Noun
  • Washable Orthopedic Dog Bed A versatile, waterproof dog bed mat that’s great for crates, travel and high-mess pups.
    — Jessica Moore, USA Today, 9 Aug. 2026
  • Be careful to not use too much, or you’ll be left with a soapy mess.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of mess
Noun
  • Arches and natural bridges sweep like buttresses from jumbles of rock, giving this landscape a mystical, cathedral-like quality.
    — Madison Chapman, Outside, 25 Mar. 2026
  • Macaroons are chewy jumbles of coconut bound together with egg whites and sweetened condensed milk.
    — Lynda Balslev, Mercury News, 10 Feb. 2026
Definition of jumble
Noun
  • For a series built around the unsettling idea of collective perfection, Pluribus works because each department thrived in the chaos of creation.
    — Deadline, Deadline, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Unlike now, when Google is widely seen as both portal and gatekeeper, sites like AltaVista, Lycos, Excite, HotBot, and Ask Jeeves promised to tame the chaos, each with its own suite of quirks, charms, and flaws.
    — Alan Bradley, ArsTechnica, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of chaos
Noun
  • Clear terms keep care from turning into confusion later on today.
    — Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 10 Aug. 2026
  • The confusion comes from treating two different problems as one.
    — Dr. Aditya Vikram Kashyap, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of confusion
Noun
  • The town is home to the world's largest snake pits, where tens of thousands of non-venomous red-sided garter snakes emerge each spring to wriggle over one another.
    — Kelli Bender, PEOPLE, 14 May 2026
  • By mimicking the biological blueprint of snake pit organs and combining it with semiconductor manufacturing, the researchers have opened a path toward truly accessible thermal vision.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 1 Dec. 2025
Definition of snake pit
Noun
  • Years earlier at her former lab in Ohio, chromosomes in mouse eggs and embryos began dividing in bizarre ways, creating the kinds of genetic errors that can lead to Down syndrome and other chromosomal disorders.
    — Sandee LaMotte, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Leo was born with a rare chromosome disorder, missing genes that left him with a cleft palate, multiple surgeries and developmental challenges that have made nearly every milestone harder to reach.
    — Itay Hod, CBS News, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of disorder
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.

Browse Nearby Words

mare
mare's nest
mare's nests
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Mare's nest.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mare%27s%20nest. Accessed 14 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of vacuous

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
fridge-magnet-letters
Drop a Letter Quiz August 2026 Drop a letter from a word to make a totally diffe...
See All