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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in chaotic
lacking in order, neatness, and often cleanliness
pell-mell piles of books everywhere in the professor's library
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in frantically
in a confused and reckless manner
tossed stuff pell-mell into the dorm room
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in hastily
with excessive or careless speed
ran pell-mell down the road to get help
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 pell-mell
Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 4 July 2025
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
Administration officials don’t see this situation as similar to October 2022, when the intelligence community saw a significant possibility Putin might use tactical nuclear weapons to avert a collapse of Russia’s front lines in Ukraine and prevent a pell-mell retreat.
—David Ignatius, Washington Post, 21 June 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
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
Ministry is not nearly as proficient as Chad Stahelski’s John Wick 4 or Matthias Schweighöfer’s Army of Thieves, but the pell-mell combat scenes are consistently cartoonish.
—Armond White, National Review, 19 Apr. 2024
America saw a pell-mell downsizing of gas-guzzling vehicles and a simultaneous ramping up of imports of fuel-efficient Japanese cars.
—Jim Krane, Fortune, 12 Oct. 2023
Adverb
Second, the pell-mell rush to be the winner-winner chicken dinner of attaining AGI before anyone else is promulgating bad science.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 4 July 2025
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
Administration officials don’t see this situation as similar to October 2022, when the intelligence community saw a significant possibility Putin might use tactical nuclear weapons to avert a collapse of Russia’s front lines in Ukraine and prevent a pell-mell retreat.
—David Ignatius, Washington Post, 21 June 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
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
Ministry is not nearly as proficient as Chad Stahelski’s John Wick 4 or Matthias Schweighöfer’s Army of Thieves, but the pell-mell combat scenes are consistently cartoonish.
—Armond White, National Review, 19 Apr. 2024
America saw a pell-mell downsizing of gas-guzzling vehicles and a simultaneous ramping up of imports of fuel-efficient Japanese cars.
—Jim Krane, Fortune, 12 Oct. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pell-mell
Adjective
-
After a hurried recovery period in his upstate hospital, Dexter heads to New York City, where his son Harrison (Jack Alcott) has moved.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
10 July 2025
-
Here’s how Kansas and Missouri representatives and senators voted in the hurried push to pass President Trump’s massive, controversial spending bill.—
Matthew Kelly,
Kansas City Star,
9 July 2025
Adjective
-
In 1945, a rare Stradivarius violin was stolen from a Berlin bank during the chaotic end of World War II.—
Asia London Palomba,
Smithsonian Magazine,
14 July 2025
-
The enforcement sparked a chaotic scene at the cannabis farms, the USA TODAY Network in California reported.—
Savannah Kuchar,
USA Today,
14 July 2025
Adverb
-
As such, frantically searching for the best stretch-mark creams for pregnancy is a rite of passage for many mothers-to-be.—
Erin Bunch,
Glamour,
9 July 2025
-
Like any worried parent, Green said his mom was frantically checking his location at all times of the day — even with a nine-hour time difference.—
Kairi Lowery,
The Orlando Sentinel,
6 July 2025
Adverb
-
To cash in on the song’s success and a subsequent album for which Dante recorded all his parts in barely two days, a band called The Cuff Links was hastily assembled and sent out on tour without him.—
George Varga,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
9 July 2025
-
In addition, their international students are being singled out for legal proceedings, and academic freedom at several prominent institutions is coming under increasing fire from a series of unprecedented government demands and hastily conducted investigations.—
Michael T. Nietzel,
Forbes.com,
9 July 2025
Adjective
-
The dramatic beats of Jessica and Felix’s messy courtship land effectively, and Stalter and Sharpe have strong chemistry.—
Alan Sepinwall,
Rolling Stone,
11 July 2025
-
Food and Water Bowls This dishwasher safe food and water bowl set comes with a detachable, non-slip silicone mat for messy eaters.—
Kelsey Monstrola,
USA Today,
11 July 2025
Adverb
-
The range of TVs included in the promotion includes everything from LG’s wildly popular G5 and C5 OLED TV series through to its latest QNED LCD TVs and even its esoteric 77-inch T4 transparent OLED model.—
John Archer,
Forbes.com,
15 July 2025
-
Tyler Perry may be best known for creating and starring in the wildly popular Madea franchise, but his impact on Hollywood stretches far beyond the wig and glasses.—
Allison DeGrushe Published,
EW.com,
15 July 2025
Adjective
-
This momentary pause, this saving interruption of the headlong, breathless trajectory of rape or murder, admitted a kind of compassion, pity, even tenderness, halting injustice in its tracks.—
Sarah Beckwith,
New Yorker,
26 May 2025
-
But swirling around it are immigration restrictions, headlong and haphazard reductions in Federal spending and a separate but related confidence shock weighing on consumer behavior.—
Michael Santoli,
CNBC,
22 Mar. 2025
Adverb
-
All of it wild-caught.—
Amy Drew Thompson,
orlandosentinel.com,
14 Aug. 2020
-
Our first stop is in a wild-looking stretch 200 yards south of the railroad tracks and State Street.—
Paul A. Smith,
Journal Sentinel,
2 Jan. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Pell-mell.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pell-mell. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share