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

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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
  • His second, a collaboration with the Times puzzle editor Tracy Bennett, was a hefty Sunday puzzle rife with just-for-the-hell-of-it wordplay.
    — New York Times, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2026
  • But hell hath no fury like a Latino voter scorned and all this intimidation, in addition to a lack of follow-through on promises by Republican lawmakers since 2024, might have a boomerang effect by agitating Latinos into action.
    — Carlos De Loera, Los Angeles Times, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of hell
Noun
  • The Heat’s defense created havoc, forcing the Hawks into 15 turnovers.
    — Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 29 Oct. 2026
  • Amid the havoc, the children flee into an enclosure, their teacher slamming the door from the outside.
    — Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of havoc
Noun
  • In the city of Hurricane in far southwestern Utah, a shipping container drifting down a street gave way Friday to a mess of mud and debris to be cleaned up as people who had evacuated earlier in the week returned home.
    — MEAD GRUVER, Arkansas Online, 24 Oct. 2026
  • General manager Les Snead is also culpable for this mess of a season, trading for Myles Garrett, who has done absolutely zero for this team.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 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
  • The chaos was a fitting end to one of the ugliest elections in recent years, said Paulo César de Oliveira in Correio da Manhã (Rio de Janeiro).
    — The Week UK, TheWeek, 31 Oct. 2026
  • The judge also raised concerns the effort would disenfranchise eligible voters and create election chaos.
    — Jude Joffe-Block, NPR, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of chaos
Noun
  • Adding to the confusion, a young female pilot has since been reported to have perished in the crash.
    — James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 2 Nov. 2026
  • Mantovani, a Miami Beach resident who immigrated to the United States from Argentina as a child, said confusion about the electoral system and doubts about the impact of a single vote kept him from participating in previous elections.
    — Sabrina Lozano, CBS News, 2 Nov. 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
  • Lewy body dementia symptoms tend to start with rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder, such as screaming or kicking during sleep.
    — Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Patients diagnosed with all types of conditions and disorders are forced to endure all types of abuses.
    — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 30 Oct. 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
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Cite this Entry

“Mare's nest.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mare%27s%20nest. Accessed 4 Nov. 2026.

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