bedlam

noun

bed·​lam ˈbed-ləm 

1

: a place, scene, or state of uproar and confusion

There was bedlam in the streets after the verdict was announced.

2

or Bedlam : an asylum for the mentally ill

3

obsolete : madman, lunatic

Synonyms

• babel
• circus
• madhouse
• scrum [British]
• three-ring circus

Examples of bedlam in a Sentence

The park had never had so many visitors at one time. It was total bedlam.

French physician Philippe Pinel was instrumental in the transformation of bedlams from filthy hellholes to well-ordered, humane institutions.

Recent Examples on the Web

The idea is to bring an irreverent, underground, at times almost Dada-ist sensibility to network television, but that also means surrounding himself with people whose own factory settings are bedlam and cynicism. —Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 27 Sep. 2024

One is Mayhem in the Madness, which is all about chaos, bedlam and havoc, while Startled Darkness is perfect for those who claim to not be afraid of the dark. —Meredith G. White, The Arizona Republic, 24 Sep. 2024

There are courtroom histrionics, rioting at Arkham, and bedlam in the streets, wrapped around Arthur’s musical romance with Harley. —Bill Desowitz, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2024

Despite its focus on catastrophic weather, the film carefully elides any mention of climate change and its real-world contributions to the meteorological bedlam described onscreen. —Rafi Schwartz, The Week Us, theweek, 23 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

Bedlam, popular name for the Hospital of St. Mary of Bethlehem, London, an asylum for the mentally ill, from Middle English Bedlem Bethlehem

First Known Use

1522, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Kids Definition

bedlam

noun

bed·​lam ˈbed-ləm 

: a place or scene of uproar and confusion

Etymology

from Middle English Bedlem "Bethlehem"

Word Origin

Around 1402 the home of a religious community in London was turned into a hospital for the mentally ill. This new hospital kept the name of the community and was known as the Hospital of Saint Mary of Bethlehem. People soon shortened this name to Bethlehem. In Middle English, though, the town of Bethlehem in Palestine was called Bedlem or Bethlem, so this was the pronunciation used for the hospital's name. In time the name Bedlem or Bedlam came to refer to any home for the mentally ill. Today we use bedlam for any scene of noise and confusion like that found in the early hospitals for the mentally ill.