Synonyms of mayhem

mayhem

noun

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

• violence
• brutality
• injury
• terror
• riot
• outrage
• mutilation
• crippling
• damage
• maiming
• attack
• harm
• savagery
• barbarity
• assault
• hurt
• foul play
• rampage
• threat
• frenzy
• impairment
• rage
• upheaval
• revolt
• shock
• detriment
• turbulence
• outbreak
• force
• fury
• thrashing
• onslaught
• smashing
• pummeling
• clubbing
• whipping
• mauling
• tumult
• bashing
• thumping
• pounding
• flogging
• whaling
• beating
• hammering
• buffeting
• paddling
• rupture
• drubbing
• paroxysm
• battery
• battering
• bludgeoning
• uproar
• licking
• pelting
• belting
• bullying
• lacing
• batting
• storm
• tromping
• walloping
• bulldozing
• cudgeling
• socking
• pommeling
• browbeating
• hectoring
• strong-arming

Dissimilar Words

• pacifism
• nonviolence
• pacificism

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of mayhem

The mayhem of recent weeks — with mass arrests and hundreds of injured — has sparked an uproar in a country steeped in a centuries-old culture of protest. — ABC News, 16 Oct. 2026

After years of bootlegging, gambling, prostitution, and racketeering, Capone went down not for murder or mayhem but for failing to pay taxes. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Oct. 2026

Investigators have not released a motive for the mayhem, and autopsies were scheduled Tuesday for all three people. — Corky Siemaszko, NBC news, 13 Oct. 2026

Local and state election officials are preparing for mayhem or interference by the federal government. — Justin Levitt, The Conversation, 13 Oct. 2026

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