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 chaotic
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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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
Adverb
What could slow the pell-mell stock market advance of artificial intelligence? — Larry Light, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025 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 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 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 The sight of Musk swinging a chainsaw onstage at a conservative conference captured the pell-mell approach, not to mention the brutality, of the billionaire’s plan to bring the federal government to heel. — Andy Kroll, ProPublica, 18 Oct. 2025 The sight of Musk swinging a chainsaw onstage at a conservative conference captured the pell-mell approach, not to mention the brutality, of the billionaire’s plan to bring the federal government to heel. — Andy Kroll, New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2025 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pell-mell
  1. hurried
  2. chaotic
  3. frantically
  4. hastily
  5. rushed
  6. messy
  7. wildly
  8. hurriedly
Adjective
  • But for some reason the powers that be have decreed artificial intelligence a civilizational imperative, requiring the hurried construction of swarms of data centers, on Earth and in space.
    — Mark Gongloff, Mercury News, 24 June 2026
  • Right now, decisions are being made in a hurried, contradictory fashion.
    — Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 15 June 2026
Definition of hurried
Adjective
  • Interview with the Vampire’s composer Daniel Hart has taken the audience on a wonderfully chaotic journey through different styles of music in The Vampire Lestat.
    — Sabrina Reed, Forbes.com, 6 July 2026
  • The events surrounding the funeral were chaotic, with eight people killed and hundreds injured, according to a report written by the Associated Press news agency at the time.
    — Xiaoqian Lin, CNN Money, 6 July 2026
Definition of chaotic
Adverb
  • Jessica Gonzalez hustles behind her booth at the recent Renegade Craft Fair, frantically ringing up sales, answering questions and packaging her beeswax candles.
    — Lisa Boone, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026
  • For five days Oswadeliz Núñez Ramírez has been frantically searching for her son across hospitals in La Guaira and Caracas.
    — Sonia Osorio, Miami Herald, 29 June 2026
Definition of frantically
Adverb
  • Indigenous people from around the continent chanted, danced, prayed and conducted smoky medicine ceremonies daily outside a fence hastily erected around the property.
    — Andres Viglucci, Miami Herald, 30 June 2026
  • Jelinek hastily asked for a ten-minute break, and the judge granted it.
    — William Finnegan, New Yorker, 29 June 2026
Definition of hastily
Adjective
  • Instead, Mahan and his wealthy Silicon Valley backers talked themselves into a rushed and premature campaign that was never remotely competitive.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2026
  • As immigration officers arrested her six weeks ago, through tears and a rushed goodbye, Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez had a request for her daughter.
    — Mathew Miranda, Sacbee.com, 6 Apr. 2026
Definition of rushed
Adjective
  • Entrepreneurship or a portfolio of roles feels messier than earning a regular salary because the risk is more visible.
    — Henrik Totterman, Forbes.com, 5 July 2026
  • Many real texts from family members are short, rushed and a little messy.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 5 July 2026
Definition of messy
Adverb
  • As Egypt celebrated wildly, referee François Letexier went to the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) screen to look at a foul that may have occurred in the buildup.
    — Kyle Feldscher, CNN Money, 7 July 2026
  • Marfan syndrome is particularly mysterious because members of a family who carry the same exact mutation can have wildly different health trajectories, Catherine Boileau, a geneticist at the French health research institution INSERM, told me.
    — Roxanne Khamsi, The Atlantic, 7 July 2026
Definition of wildly
Adverb
  • The city hurriedly put together a pitch for the Bears, calling the site Halas Harbor until the Bears rejected the Hail Mary play in favor of Hammond.
    — Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 28 June 2026
  • As the party raged on LACMA’s campus, hundreds of parade participants hurriedly prepared for their debuts in the corners of nearby streets and parking lots.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 21 June 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 8 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on pell-mell

Nglish: Translation of pell-mell for Spanish Speakers

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