pell-mell 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of pell-mellnext
1
as in hurried
acting or done with excessive or careless speed when the theater doors opened, there was a pell-mell rush for the best seats

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in messy
lacking in order, neatness, and often cleanliness pell-mell piles of books everywhere in the professor's library

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pell-mell

2 of 2

adverb

ˌpel-ˈmel How to pronounce pell-mell (audio)
1
as in frantically
in a confused and reckless manner tossed stuff pell-mell into the dorm room

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in hastily
with excessive or careless speed ran pell-mell down the road to get help

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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 pell-mell
Adverb
People ran pell-mell outside, sped away in cars with no clear destination, went to church, or just phoned the police or radio station to hyperventilate. — Nicolas Rapold, airmail.news, 23 Nov. 2024 Abe and Mary are part Rhett Butler and Scarlett O’Hara, part George and Martha, part the old vaudevillians George Burns and Gracie Allen, all running together pell-mell toward the Copacabana. — Chris Jones, New York Daily News, 12 July 2024 Only a few of them stopped with remainder racing pell-mell through the intersection as approaching cars on Charles braked abruptly. — Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 25 Apr. 2024 Ultimately, the more naturalistic second half — which has a realistic set with chairs and tables, delivered in a clunky black-out transition by intrusive stagehands — gets as sharp and loud as the pell-mell sounds-and-lights first half. — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 12 Apr. 2024 See All Example Sentences for pell-mell
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pell-mell
  1. hurried
  2. messy
  3. frantically
  4. hastily
  5. rushed
  6. chaotic
  7. wildly
  8. hurriedly
Adjective
  • Dooley emphasized the preliminary nature of the ruling and the hurried nature of the litigation preceding it in a short, 12-page decision.
    — Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Chandler Simpson put down a squeeze bunt and Mateo beat third baseman Kevin McGonigle’s hurried flip to the plate.
    — Dave Hogg, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of hurried
Adjective
  • Nonna’s Meatball Sandwich Making meatballs at home can be a messy, overwhelming task.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026
  • The actors split in 2016, following 12 years together in total, although their messy divorce was only finalized in December 2024.
    — Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of messy
Adverb
  • But as their love affair gets steamier and Haru frantically tries to maintain her elaborate ruse, the dance numbers lose their luster.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Despite efforts to frantically re-staff, this is an agency in crisis.
    — Brenda Goodman, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of frantically
Adverb
  • The bug had never come up in testing, and the FIA had to hastily write and then distribute to the teams a software update to solve the problem.
    — Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Wiemels is also skeptical about hastily drawing connections to pesticides.
    — Julia Vargas Jones, CNN Money, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of hastily
Adjective
  • The teen’s family has said this was a rushed judgment that did not involve a thorough enough investigation.
    — Sam Gillette, PEOPLE, 27 July 2026
  • The rushed and botched release of Apple Intelligence made clear that Apple's AI strategy wasn't fully fleshed out.
    — Kevin Stankiewicz,Zev Fima, CNBC, 10 July 2026
Definition of rushed
Adjective
  • But the image that stays with me is of a meeting with Olga, climbing the winding stairs of our little building for a somewhat chaotic coffee in the festival’s office.
    — Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Explore See latest videos, charts and news Turnstile is the first hardcore band to appear on SNL since Fear’s famously chaotic performance back in 1981.
    — Lars Brandle, Billboard, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of chaotic
Adverb
  • Officials have considered mass sterilization or hiring sharpshooters, but those options are wildly expensive.
    — Bob Drogin, Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2026
  • But while many comedians go on to have wildly lucrative careers, that doesn’t seem to be Earthquake’s priority — making people laugh is.
    — Justin Klawans, TheWeek, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of wildly
Adverb
  • Her husband hurriedly shut the door and begged her to see a doctor for a tranquilizer prescription.
    — Elvira Navarro, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Antonelli hurriedly informed his race engineer, Peter Bonnington, who had been regularly reminding the Italian to adhere to track limits throughout the race and to look after his car.
    — Luke Smith, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of hurriedly

Browse Nearby Words

pellets
pell-mell
pellucid
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Cite this Entry

“Pell-mell.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pell-mell. Accessed 7 Oct. 2026.

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