as in commotion
a state of noisy, confused activity
lost sight of his children in all the hurly-burly of the fair
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Recent Examples of hurly-burly
But mostly for my parents, who had worked so hard for so many years to create a refuge from the hurly-burly of the outside world.
—
James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 12 Jan. 2025
In the hurly-burly of a modern economy, people are constantly being hurt by economic changes beyond their control.
—Alan S. Blinder, Foreign Affairs, 11 Dec. 2018
But mostly for my parents, who had worked so hard for so many years to create a refuge from the hurly-burly of the outside world.
—James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 12 Jan. 2025
Mustard admires the fact that, rather than engage in the hurly-burly of social media, Lamar will disappear from public view for long stretches of time.
—Tribune News Service, Boston Herald, 22 Aug. 2024
Trump Has Promised to Do in a Second Term
Compounding all of this household hurly-burly is the fact that Suada has stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 3 Apr. 2024
The image’s low contrast and lack of sharpness suggest that it was snapped from the hurly-burly of the piazza.
—Paul Elie, The New Yorker, 14 Nov. 2023
By then, his approach to artists had softened, perhaps from age, or from the experience of being in the creative hurly-burly himself.
—Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2023
He is considered a must-follow in the hurly-burly community known as Crypto Twitter for his informed takes on legal and regulatory news.
—Jeff John Roberts, Fortune Crypto, 3 Oct. 2023
James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 12 Jan. 2025
In the hurly-burly of a modern economy, people are constantly being hurt by economic changes beyond their control.
—Alan S. Blinder, Foreign Affairs, 11 Dec. 2018
But mostly for my parents, who had worked so hard for so many years to create a refuge from the hurly-burly of the outside world.
—James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 12 Jan. 2025
Mustard admires the fact that, rather than engage in the hurly-burly of social media, Lamar will disappear from public view for long stretches of time.
—Tribune News Service, Boston Herald, 22 Aug. 2024
Trump Has Promised to Do in a Second Term
Compounding all of this household hurly-burly is the fact that Suada has stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 3 Apr. 2024
The image’s low contrast and lack of sharpness suggest that it was snapped from the hurly-burly of the piazza.
—Paul Elie, The New Yorker, 14 Nov. 2023
By then, his approach to artists had softened, perhaps from age, or from the experience of being in the creative hurly-burly himself.
—Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2023
He is considered a must-follow in the hurly-burly community known as Crypto Twitter for his informed takes on legal and regulatory news.
—Jeff John Roberts, Fortune Crypto, 3 Oct. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hurly-burly
Noun
-
Play was delayed for several minutes when a spectator needed medical attention after Alcaraz noticed the commotion in the stands.—
George Ramsay,
CNN Money,
30 June 2025
-
There followed a small commotion of friendliness—apologies, laughter—after which we were led to our seats and sent a free passion-fruit donut.—
Katy Waldman,
New Yorker,
29 June 2025
Noun
-
The data is normalized, de-duplicated and time-aligned in real time, ensuring that every heart-rate spike or sleep disturbance immediately informs the AI risk models.—
Gil Press,
Forbes.com,
24 June 2025
-
The whales are facing a number of threats, including declining quantity and quality of prey, toxic pollution and disturbance from vessel noise, according to the Marine Mammal Commission.—
Evan Bush,
NBC news,
23 June 2025
Noun
-
Being an important man Tommy was always in a hurry.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
30 June 2025
-
All three sectors know that as the Trump administration considers further policy, and as the administration’s trade talks with China progress, things could change in a hurry.—
Ethan Karp,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2025
Noun
-
Especially given the turmoil with the other edge rushers, eyes are focused on seeing if Murphy looks like the same underachiever from the first two years or a blossoming athletic specimen.—
Jeff Zrebiec,
New York Times,
8 July 2025
-
The turmoil points to a clash on competing visions over how to run the economy.—
Brit Morse,
Fortune,
6 July 2025
Noun
-
As with all games, the results caused a stir, and Nic, Elan, Cierra, Chelley, Huda, and Ace were at the heart of the drama.—
Billie Melissa,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 June 2025
-
The season 36 finale caused quite a stir with fans, but this isn't the first time a core family member bit the dust.—
Randall Colburn,
EW.com,
25 June 2025
Noun
-
But there was little cause for celebration at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium after Luis Enrique’s men swatted away Lionel Messi and his teammates with minimum fuss.—
Dan Cancian,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2025
-
Salmon is an increasingly popular fish that’s easy to prepare at home with minimal fuss.—
Stacey Lastoe,
Southern Living,
28 June 2025
Noun
-
Amid the hustle and bustle of Polk Street sits Zygma European Groceries and Deli, a Polish market opened almost 15 years ago by Polish immigrants Marta and Zygmunt Zelazko.—
Olivia Lee,
Charlotte Observer,
1 July 2025
-
The usual hustle and bustle had vanished on the sixth day of escalating conflict with Israel.—
Amir Daftari,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hurly-burly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hurly-burly. Accessed 12 Jul. 2025.
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