as in violence
actions that hurt people and destroy things; a scene or situation that involves a lot of violence
Movies seem to be filled with murder and mayhem these days. a criminal who escaped from prison and caused mayhem
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Recent Examples of mayhem
At the center of the mayhem was Veronica Burton.
—
Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 29 May 2026
Putting a match in a cage told spectators that the mayhem couldn’t be contained within an ordinary wrestling ring.
—Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 28 May 2026
The mayhem over Memorial Day weekend in Chicago erupted without warning.
—Corky Siemaszko, NBC news, 28 May 2026
There’s one enjoyably oddball visual when Passenger Man disrupts a cozy projector-and-canopy movie night in the forest and suddenly the faces of Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn are on trees everywhere as mayhem ensues.
—Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for mayhem
Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 29 May 2026
Putting a match in a cage told spectators that the mayhem couldn’t be contained within an ordinary wrestling ring.
—Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 28 May 2026
The mayhem over Memorial Day weekend in Chicago erupted without warning.
—Corky Siemaszko, NBC news, 28 May 2026
There’s one enjoyably oddball visual when Passenger Man disrupts a cozy projector-and-canopy movie night in the forest and suddenly the faces of Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn are on trees everywhere as mayhem ensues.
—Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for mayhem
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mayhem
Noun
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Nearly half of American women have suffered some form of intimate-partner violence.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
6 June 2026
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From Saint-Marc to Thailand to Miami to Ecuador Born and raised in Saint-Marc, a port city now grappling with escalating gang violence, Adé plays center back for LDU Quito in Ecuador.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
6 June 2026
Noun
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Lyrics by Ahrens and dialogue by McNally about the discrimination and brutality that Black Americans and immigrants face can seem straight out of the current moment.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
6 June 2026
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Where the movie’s true eccentricity comes in is in its combination of breezy comedy with shocking brutality and gore, perhaps most exemplified in an oddly casual moment in a morgue where Seagal and Wayans find a clue in the form of a serial number on a dead woman’s breast implant.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
5 June 2026
Noun
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Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy appeared to escape serious injury after being involved in a violent collision during a 3-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on Thursday.—
Maddie Lee,
Los Angeles Times,
5 June 2026
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Some big names won't be making the trip to North America for the World Cup due to injury problems.—
Alex Connor,
USA Today,
4 June 2026
Noun
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LaBeouf’s campaign of terror ended when he was arrested for punching several people outside the Royal Street Inn & R Bar.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
3 June 2026
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The sheer terror of marathon training certainly kept me off cigarettes for a solid six months.—
Kimberly McCreight,
Time,
3 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mayhem.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mayhem. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
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