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
  • Instead Justine shows up to slit his throat and take the baby from him, leaving him for dead; the child winds up disappearing with Holtz into a hell dimension.
    — Emily Temple, Literary Hub, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Desperate to believe his life is about to change, Tommy steals Wayne’s car and begins driving his band from Kansas City to Los Angeles, hell bent on getting there in three days.
    — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of hell
Noun
  • The wingers were the stand-out performers during the pre-season trip to Asia, with Antoine Semenyo in particular — but also Savinho — causing havoc with their dribbling.
    — Sam Lee, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2026
  • The havoc a hacker wreaks using their attack could be catastrophic.
    — Frank Landymore, Futurism, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of havoc
Noun
  • The lineup has expanded beyond its viral multi-balm, too, with lightweight SPF sticks and even a mess-minimizing grinding cleansing balm.
    — Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 15 Aug. 2026
  • This major price cut gives pet owners, apartment renters, and busy families an easy way to clean up the mess in a single pass without retail price strain.
    — Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 14 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
  • The venerable establishment was undamaged, but shut down amid the chaos.
    — Mery Mogollón, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2026
  • As climate chaos causes oceans to swallow coastlands, and as surging water displaces and devastates communities, social survival will demand that people find ways to live and work with – and on – the water.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of chaos
Noun
  • The new on-pitch laws… There was confusion at Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium in the first round of the Carabao Cup, when substitute Fin Cartwright was held back from entering the pitch straight away.
    — George Edwards, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026
  • The confusion is that Italian etiquette is not the same as Italian-American etiquette, where the continuing use of the spoon is not uncommon.
    — Judith Martin, Mercury News, 17 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
  • A number of cardiovascular conditions—including atrial fibrillation, a common heart rhythm disorder—are linked to cardiac neurons.
    — Isabella Backman, Hartford Courant, 14 Aug. 2026
  • The study connected gut inflammation in 12 children to neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism.
    — Brenda Goodman, CNN Money, 14 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
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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 20 Aug. 2026.

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