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
Noun
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The sulfurous scent of hell wafted on the sea breeze.—
Caity Weaver,
The Atlantic,
8 Oct. 2025 -
Mauser is a man with a dream no one respects, who goes to hell and back in pursuit of greatness.—
Patrick Hipes,
Deadline,
6 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Almost serpentine in her shimmering elegance, Thompson’s Hedda glides from room to room wreaking social havoc with her guests, an old lover, and even her husband that will, ultimately, have tragic consequences for all.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Oct. 2025
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In contrast, effective interplay between James McClean, Doyle and O’Brien down the left was minimal, allowing QPR to dominate that flank, particularly during a first half when Harvey Vale and Rumarn Burrell caused havoc.—
Richard Sutcliffe,
New York Times,
9 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Boaters in Fort Lauderdale will soon be able to skip the mess — and help keep the city’s waterways cleaner — thanks to a new sewage pumpout vessel launching next spring.—
Amanda Rosa,
Miami Herald,
11 Oct. 2025
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But this mess, about a garage band that starts to see a hint of success and is immediately torn apart by the usual rock-movie clichés, never really gets going.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Ray’s most chaotic photograms—jumbles that push out of the frame or look like time bombs ready to explode—find echoes in his films, projected on the back walls, a show in themselves.—
Vince Aletti,
New Yorker,
3 Oct. 2025
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In jumbles of old stones that, to me, are barely legible as the remains of buildings, Cocon López could see the entire timeline of old Aké and how later people interacted with and repurposed what came before.—
Lizzie Wade,
Smithsonian Magazine,
23 May 2025
Noun
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In the chaos of a collision, especially one involving fast-moving vehicles, capturing a clear license plate is often impossible.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Oct. 2025
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Almost as suddenly as the whirlwind appears, the entire platform collapses in a fury of flames and chaos.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The very concept of combining social media with AI assistants caused confusion earlier this year.—
Lisa Eadicicco,
CNN Money,
11 Oct. 2025
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That confusion is further reflected by the manic hyper-subjectivity of Bronstein’s filmmaking, which boxes Linda into a close-up so tight that everything around her — especially her unnamed daughter, who almost never appears on screen — might as well be a disembodied echo of her own anxiety.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Inside the museum, visitors can climb into a snake pit, tour a collection of global oddities and attend expert presentations in the building's historic courtroom, per the event website.—
Jenna Prestininzi,
Freep.com,
29 Aug. 2025
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The series, which used to air on Fox and USA before pivoting to Netflix this year, takes four couples on rocky ground, splits them up, and puts them into a snake pit of singles whose only goal is to tempt.—
Randall Colburn,
EW.com,
19 Mar. 2025
Noun
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But Kraus, who studies gambling disorders, attributes the growing popularity of parlays less to the users, and more to the sportsbooks.—
Sasha Rogelberg,
Fortune,
11 Oct. 2025
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The neurodegenerative disorder, which causes tremors, affects speech and leads to motor skills, has no cure.—
Eric Andersson,
PEOPLE,
11 Oct. 2025
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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 14 Oct. 2025.
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