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
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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
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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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pell-mell
Larry Light, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 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
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
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
Adverb
What could slow the pell-mell stock market advance of artificial intelligence?
—Larry Light, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 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
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pell-mell
Adjective
-
Modi’s meeting with Xi was neither a sudden response to Trump’s bullying nor a hurried reset of India’s relationship with China.—
TANVI MADAN,
Foreign Affairs,
24 Sep. 2025
-
Foster’s hurried firing on Sunday morning comes after his hurried hiring in February 2024, his placement a band-aid one week after Chip Kelly bolted to be offensive coordinator at Ohio State.—
Mirjam Swanson,
Oc Register,
15 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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But, true to the chaotic and improvisational nature of his medium, the screening was delayed by about 25 minutes as Speed wrapped things up and attendees were corralled to their seats with buckets of kettle corn and hard Topo Chicos.—
Miles Klee,
Rolling Stone,
5 Oct. 2025
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Some have turned chaotic, with protesters clashing with authorities.—
Louis Casiano,
FOXNews.com,
4 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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Indonesian rescue teams are frantically searching for scores of young students buried for two days under rubble in Sidoarjo, East Java, after their Islamic boarding school collapsed on them during afternoon prayers.—
Helen Regan,
CNN Money,
1 Oct. 2025
-
Meanwhile, her parents frantically hide the rift from their audience.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
29 Sep. 2025
Adverb
-
Still, inmates were hastily transferred to other facilities.—
Jon Lee Anderson,
New Yorker,
29 Sep. 2025
-
Though Disney initially stayed on the sidelines as sportsbooks and broadcasters hastily paired up, PointsBet locked in NBC, William Hill walled off CBS, the Stars Group partnered with Fox and Penn National experimented with Barstool.—
Eben Novy-Williams,
Sportico.com,
29 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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These alternatives can often provide a richer, less rushed experience than a whirlwind day trip to Paris.—
David Nikel,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
-
The Dolphins had two delay-of-game penalties and a rushed play during their unsuccessful final two drives against New England.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
17 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Between the messy decline of solar cycle 25 and the possibility of a dramatic last gasp, aurora hunters may still have their best nights ahead.—
Daisy Dobrijevic,
Space.com,
3 Oct. 2025
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Ceiling Fixtures Most people don't climb up a ladder to dust ceiling fixtures, so this is going to be a messy job.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
3 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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In the 42nd minute, having cut inside Niang, Leysen lunged wildly to try and prevent Elanga recovering the ball, but got nowhere near it and conceded a penalty (he was harshly adjudged to have handballed it during the second half for another spot kick, too).—
Chris Waugh,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
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Designer Joe Nahem of the esteemed firm Fox-Nahem was then brought in to merge the two spaces into one wildly creative space that vibrates with color, pattern, and texture.—
Mark David,
Robb Report,
1 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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But as rumors swirled that the gang was on its way to launch another assault, merchants in the market could be seen hurriedly packing their goods.—
Ychmuth Corneille,
Miami Herald,
21 Sep. 2025
-
Book influencers and everyday readers lined up hurriedly to take photos with Aster and get their manuscripts signed.—
Clare Mulroy,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pell-mell.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pell-mell. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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