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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Martini in hand, hair down, some animal print ensemble on, her Maeve is a psychopath, goading her husband Conrad (Brosnan) to greater acts of violence and mayhem.
—
Taylor Antrim, Vogue, 12 May 2025
The potential gains from stealing money or creating mayhem in the markets will be too appealing to pass up.
—James Watt, Forbes.com, 22 May 2025
The red-robed heroines of Gilead walked in unison down a street after a night of mayhem with sirens blaring in the background.
—Bryan West, USA Today, 20 May 2025
But the real mayhem, Veach seems to happen when a third child enters the mix.
—Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for mayhem
Taylor Antrim, Vogue, 12 May 2025
The potential gains from stealing money or creating mayhem in the markets will be too appealing to pass up.
—James Watt, Forbes.com, 22 May 2025
The red-robed heroines of Gilead walked in unison down a street after a night of mayhem with sirens blaring in the background.
—Bryan West, USA Today, 20 May 2025
But the real mayhem, Veach seems to happen when a third child enters the mix.
—Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for mayhem
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mayhem
Noun
-
Despite their fierce appearances, many of the barbers who work at Liem’s shops are soft-spoken and humble and reject any perceptions of violence and crime.—
Stephanie Yang,
Los Angeles Times,
27 May 2025
-
His team of workers does round-the-clock work to tackle the root causes of community violence, leading peer-to-peer support and group therapy sessions.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
27 May 2025
Noun
-
But the picture’s cartoonish brutality is cathartic.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
6 June 2025
-
Failing to silence his work through restrictions and brutality, the Iranian regime appears to have been resigned to simply ignoring Panahi.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
30 May 2025
Noun
-
Zverev, Tsitsipas, Medvedev and Matteo Berrettini, the Italian who had to miss this French Open through injury, were chief among them.—
Charlie Eccleshare,
New York Times,
29 May 2025
-
What’s more, the injury is likely old, given that new tissue is already forming over the wound.—
Margherita Bassi,
Popular Science,
29 May 2025
Noun
-
Hamas and other militant groups kidnapped 251 people from Israel during the October 7, 2023 terror attacks.—
Jeremy Diamond,
CNN Money,
28 May 2025
-
In the trailer, LAPD detective Mark Meachum (Ackles) is recruited to be part of an elite team tasked with preventing a large scale terror attack in Los Angeles.—
Joe Otterson,
Variety,
28 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mayhem.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mayhem. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share