1
: wide and general destruction : devastation
A tornado wreaked havoc on the town two years ago.
2
: great confusion and disorder
the blackout caused havoc in the city
Examples of havoc in a Sentence
Noun
The disease can play havoc with the body's immune system.
Several small children can create havoc in a house.
Recent Examples on the Web
Stephanie Breijo, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2025
The film rocketed back in time to show the havoc the creature wreaked on a group of Native Americans in the Great Plains during the 18th century.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 24 Apr. 2025
Rendy Jones, EW.com, 2 Aug. 2024
So asking other states for help before Maria, which might have lined up resources for Puerto Rico more quickly, would have been an expensive undertaking without knowing for sure what havoc the storm would wreak.
—Patricia Mazzei and Omaya Sosa Pascual, miamiherald, 19 Oct. 2017
See All Example Sentences for havoc
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Noun
Emotional devastation lingers in L.A. fire zones March 9, 2025
Questions of how people can donate their own cookbook collections to the cause are already pouring in; Now Serving hopes to organize donation drives in the future, perhaps for an event in July, six months from the fires’ havoc.
—Stephanie Breijo, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2025
The film rocketed back in time to show the havoc the creature wreaked on a group of Native Americans in the Great Plains during the 18th century.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 24 Apr. 2025
Verb
Plankton: The Movie arrives exclusively on Netflix in 2025.
06 of 06
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants (2025)
Next year SpongeBob returns to theaters with his fourth film, The Search for SquarePants, as Plankton wrecks havoc on Netflix.
—Rendy Jones, EW.com, 2 Aug. 2024
So asking other states for help before Maria, which might have lined up resources for Puerto Rico more quickly, would have been an expensive undertaking without knowing for sure what havoc the storm would wreak.
—Patricia Mazzei and Omaya Sosa Pascual, miamiherald, 19 Oct. 2017
See All Example Sentences for havoc
Cite this Entry
“Havoc.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/havoc. Accessed 12 May. 2025.
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