chaotic

adjective

cha·​ot·​ic kā-ˈä-tik How to pronounce chaotic (audio)
1
: marked by chaos or being in a state of chaos : completely confused or disordered
a chaotic political race
After he became famous, his life became even more chaotic.
They may look chaotic and barbaric, but scrums are a critical and strategic part of the game, and they unfold and escalate according to hockey's venerated, unwritten rules of engagement.David Fleming
To the uninitiated visitor, the seemingly chaotic energy of a typical Thai market may give the impression of a free-for-all, …Diane Ruengsom
2
mathematics : having outcomes that can vary widely due to extremely small changes in initial conditions
In other words, what comes out of the program's equations is extremely sensitive to what goes in. And that, as any mathematician would recognize, is one of the hallmarks of chaotic systems.Ingrid Wickelgren
A physical system—a weather system, say—is chaotic if a very slight change in initial conditions sends the system off on a very different course.Physics Today
chaotically adverb
a chaotically busy scene

Examples of chaotic in a Sentence

a chaotic cellar sorely in need of some straightening up
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Monday's event was the latest congressional town hall to get chaotic. Joe Walsh, CBS News, 21 Apr. 2025 As a governance matter, some investors complained that the pivots are too chaotic. Justin Worland, Time, 18 Apr. 2025 Eyewitnesses who experienced the shooting on the campus of Florida State University in Tallahassee describe a chaotic scene unfolding after reports of shots fired circulated. Liam Quinn, People.com, 17 Apr. 2025 The campaign is predictably Trumpian, built on a flagrantly pretextual basis and executed with the sort of vicious but chaotic idiocy that has always been a hallmark of the authoritarian mind. Ars Staff, ArsTechnica, 17 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for chaotic

Word History

First Known Use

1688, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of chaotic was in 1688

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Cite this Entry

“Chaotic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chaotic. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.

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