stew

1 a state of nervous or irritated concern many in town are in a stew about the proposed plan to close at least one of the elementary schools Synonyms dither, fluster, fuss, huff, lather, pother, fret, sweat, swelter, swivet, tizzy, twitterRelated Words bother, dudgeon, pique; alarm (also alarum), hand-wringing, panic; ado, agitation, delirium, distraction, furor, hysteria, uproar; nervous breakdown

2 a state of noisy, confused activity the audience went into a stew when the evacuation order was announced Synonyms ado, alarums and excursions, ballyhoo, blather, bluster, bobbery, bother, bustle, clatter, clutter [chiefly dialect], coil, corroboree [Australian], disturbance, do [chiefly dialect], foofaraw, fun, furor, furore, fuss, helter-skelter, hoo-ha (also hoo-hah), hoopla, hubble-bubble, hubbub, hullabaloo, hurly, hurly-burly, hurricane, hurry, hurry-scurry (or hurry-skurry), kerfuffle [chiefly British], moil, pandemonium, pother, row, ruckus, ruction, rumpus, shindy, splore [Scottish], squall, commotion, stir, storm, to-do, tumult, turmoil, uproar, welter, whirl, williwaw, zooRelated Words cacophony, clamor, din, howl, hue and cry, noise, outcry, racket, roar; disorder, unrest, upheaval; eruption, flare-up, flurry, flutter, outbreak, outburst; brawl, fracas, fray, hassle, melee (also mêlée), scuffle; dither, fever, fret, lather, tizzyNear Antonyms calm, hush, peace, quiet, quietude, rest, stillness, tranquillity (or tranquility); order, orderliness

3 an unorganized collection or mixture of various things the documentary looks at the stew of conspiracy theories inspired by the assassination Synonyms agglomerate, agglomeration, alphabet soup, assortment, botch, clutter, collage, crazy quilt, farrago, gallimaufry, grab bag, gumbo, hash, hodgepodge, hotchpotch, jambalaya, jumble, jungle, litter, macédoine, medley, mélange, menagerie, miscellanea, mishmash, mixed bag, montage, motley, muddle, olio, olla podrida, omnium-gatherum, pastiche, patchwork, patchwork quilt, potpourri, ragbag, ragout, rummage, salad, salmagundi, scramble, shuffle, smorgasbord, miscellany, tumble, variety, welterRelated Words detritus, notions, oddments, odds and ends, sundries; accumulation, aggregate, aggregation, conglomerate, conglomeration; catchall; admixture, alloy, amalgam, blend, combination, commixture, composite, compound, fusion, intermixture, mix-up; bollix, chaos, confusion, disarrangement, disarray, disorder, dog's breakfast [chiefly British], mess, morass, muddle, shambles; imbroglio, knot, snarl, tangle

4 a building in which prostitutes are available a red-light district full of down and dirty stews Synonyms bagnio, bawdy house, brothel, cathouse, disorderly house, sporting house, bordello, whorehouseRelated Words call house, crib; massage parlor; harem, seraglio