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
• damage
• attack
• crippling
• maiming
• harm
• savagery
• barbarity
• assault
• hurt
• rampage
• threat
• foul play
• frenzy
• rage
• impairment
• shock
• upheaval
• revolt
• outbreak
• turbulence
• detriment
• force
• fury
• thrashing
• onslaught
• smashing
• pummeling
• clubbing
• whipping
• mauling
• tumult
• thumping
• bashing
• pounding
• whaling
• flogging
• beating
• hammering
• buffeting
• rupture
• paddling
• 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

And there’s mayhem, writ small, in the unpredictable trajectories of a child and a ball. — Susan Tallman, The Atlantic, 11 July 2026

Watch On After losing their son, Gaku (Kengo Kora), in battle, the Tawara family blends back into modern Japanese life and abandons their nights-and-weekends ninja mayhem. — David Faris, TheWeek, 10 July 2026

Once the story gathers everyone into the house and lets the mayhem start in earnest, an overall feeling of Gothic grimness and rotting-corpse griminess takes hold. — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 10 July 2026

But last weekend’s mayhem, in which thousands descended on the community and more than 400 ended up under arrest, has hit Newport Beach differently, spurring calls for the city leaders to take decisive action. — Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2026

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