as in violence
actions that hurt people and destroy things; a scene or situation that involves a lot of violence
Movies seem to be filled with murder and mayhem these days. a criminal who escaped from prison and caused mayhem
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of mayhem
The game series of the same name is very thinly plotted, focusing on big demolition derbies and pure chaos and mayhem rather than story.
—
Rafael Motamayor, Vulture, 31 July 2025
Obviously, only digital horses were harnessed in the hit-and-run, but the surrounding mayhem and carriages are the production team’s purview.
—Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 30 July 2025
Maybe if you were deeply invested in the authenticity of Black Sabbath and that incarnation of Ozzy, The Osbournes was a betrayal, turning mayhem into minstrelsy.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 22 July 2025
The mayhem began with a three-car crash in Herriman around 10:30 p.m.
—Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 6 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for mayhem
Rafael Motamayor, Vulture, 31 July 2025
Obviously, only digital horses were harnessed in the hit-and-run, but the surrounding mayhem and carriages are the production team’s purview.
—Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 30 July 2025
Maybe if you were deeply invested in the authenticity of Black Sabbath and that incarnation of Ozzy, The Osbournes was a betrayal, turning mayhem into minstrelsy.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 22 July 2025
The mayhem began with a three-car crash in Herriman around 10:30 p.m.
—Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 6 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for mayhem
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mayhem
Noun
-
The children died in June 2023 in what prosecutors described as an eruption of violence motivated by fear of losing them to their father, Nathan John, according to the BBC, who survived the attack.—
Christina Coulter,
People.com,
7 Aug. 2025
-
At certain times, such conspiratorial thinking and refusal to accept the evidence will become dangerous—people will spin up fantasies that result in acts of defamation or threats of violence.—
Kaitlyn Tiffany,
The Atlantic,
7 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
The spectacle was carried out with breathtaking emptiness, revealing American values while glorifying Putin’s brutality.—
Andy J. Semotiuk,
Forbes.com,
17 Aug. 2025
-
The city has previously denied using tows to make money and has denied claims that Furman was engaged in police brutality, noting he was investigated by Michigan State Police in one incident but cleared.—
Tresa Baldas,
Freep.com,
8 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Jose Javier Romero-Hernandez, a Mexican citizen, was convicted of first-degree burglary, domestic assault and battery by strangulation, domestic assault with a dangerous weapon, threatening an act of violence, and malicious injury or destruction of property in Oklahoma.—
Louis Casiano , Bill Melugin,
FOXNews.com,
7 Aug. 2025
-
Hot days tax the body greatly and if your body is not up to the challenge, excessive environmental heat can result in severe injury and even death.—
Bryant Stamford,
The Courier-Journal,
7 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Far to the north, in the Montes de Maria region where Nawar Jimenez grew up, the terror instilled by armed groups is also deep-rooted.—
Ladan Anoushfar,
CNN Money,
6 Aug. 2025
-
Virginia Woolf’s wild run of creativity in her 40s included writing her masterpiece on the terrors and triumphs of middle age.—
Hillary Kelly,
The Atlantic,
5 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mayhem.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mayhem. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share