1
as in hurried
acting or done with excessive or careless speed
when the theater doors opened, there was a pell-mell rush for the best seats
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in chaotic
lacking in order, neatness, and often cleanliness
pell-mell piles of books everywhere in the professor's library
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in frantically
in a confused and reckless manner
tossed stuff pell-mell into the dorm room
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in hastily
with excessive or careless speed
ran pell-mell down the road to get help
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pell-mell
Nicolas Rapold, airmail.news, 23 Nov. 2024
Abe and Mary are part Rhett Butler and Scarlett O’Hara, part George and Martha, part the old vaudevillians George Burns and Gracie Allen, all running together pell-mell toward the Copacabana.
—Chris Jones, New York Daily News, 12 July 2024
Its unreformed economy is in secular decline, while its pell-mell effort to modernize its armed forces and take strategic initiative has revived NATO, terrified Russia’s formerly pro-Russian neighbors, and put off much of the world.
—Alexander J. Motyl, Foreign Affairs, 25 Sep. 2016
Administration officials don’t see this situation as similar to October 2022, when the intelligence community saw a significant possibility Putin might use tactical nuclear weapons to avert a collapse of Russia’s front lines in Ukraine and prevent a pell-mell retreat.
—David Ignatius, Washington Post, 21 June 2024
Ultimately, the more naturalistic second half — which has a realistic set with chairs and tables, delivered in a clunky black-out transition by intrusive stagehands — gets as sharp and loud as the pell-mell sounds-and-lights first half.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 12 Apr. 2024
Only a few of them stopped with remainder racing pell-mell through the intersection as approaching cars on Charles braked abruptly.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 25 Apr. 2024
Ministry is not nearly as proficient as Chad Stahelski’s John Wick 4 or Matthias Schweighöfer’s Army of Thieves, but the pell-mell combat scenes are consistently cartoonish.
—Armond White, National Review, 19 Apr. 2024
America saw a pell-mell downsizing of gas-guzzling vehicles and a simultaneous ramping up of imports of fuel-efficient Japanese cars.
—Jim Krane, Fortune, 12 Oct. 2023
Adverb
People ran pell-mell outside, sped away in cars with no clear destination, went to church, or just phoned the police or radio station to hyperventilate.
—Nicolas Rapold, airmail.news, 23 Nov. 2024
Abe and Mary are part Rhett Butler and Scarlett O’Hara, part George and Martha, part the old vaudevillians George Burns and Gracie Allen, all running together pell-mell toward the Copacabana.
—Chris Jones, New York Daily News, 12 July 2024
Its unreformed economy is in secular decline, while its pell-mell effort to modernize its armed forces and take strategic initiative has revived NATO, terrified Russia’s formerly pro-Russian neighbors, and put off much of the world.
—Alexander J. Motyl, Foreign Affairs, 25 Sep. 2016
Administration officials don’t see this situation as similar to October 2022, when the intelligence community saw a significant possibility Putin might use tactical nuclear weapons to avert a collapse of Russia’s front lines in Ukraine and prevent a pell-mell retreat.
—David Ignatius, Washington Post, 21 June 2024
Ultimately, the more naturalistic second half — which has a realistic set with chairs and tables, delivered in a clunky black-out transition by intrusive stagehands — gets as sharp and loud as the pell-mell sounds-and-lights first half.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 12 Apr. 2024
Only a few of them stopped with remainder racing pell-mell through the intersection as approaching cars on Charles braked abruptly.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 25 Apr. 2024
Ministry is not nearly as proficient as Chad Stahelski’s John Wick 4 or Matthias Schweighöfer’s Army of Thieves, but the pell-mell combat scenes are consistently cartoonish.
—Armond White, National Review, 19 Apr. 2024
America saw a pell-mell downsizing of gas-guzzling vehicles and a simultaneous ramping up of imports of fuel-efficient Japanese cars.
—Jim Krane, Fortune, 12 Oct. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pell-mell
Adjective
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By contrast, Spencer crossing the ocean in the space of an hour feels downright hurried.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
23 Feb. 2025
-
Photography by Christopher Lee Every morning taquerias throughout San Antonio fill with construction workers, nurses in scrubs, college students, and hurried families, all finding salvation in an iconic staple: the breakfast taco.—
Edmund Tijerina,
Bon Appétit,
27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Meanwhile, the White House’s on-again, off-again approach to tariffs with our major trading partners is so chaotic, it can barely be called a policy.—
MoneyShow,
Forbes,
14 Mar. 2025
-
The result is a topsy-turvy movie that is also spiritually profound in ways that the Marvel and DC franchises don’t dare but that became abstruse and chaotic in Snyder’s many Rebel Moon iterations.—
Armond White,
National Review,
14 Mar. 2025
Adverb
-
Every year around this time, as college basketball casuals start frantically Googling for Cinderellas, bracket breakdown marathons blanket TV airwaves and CBS’ Seth Davis predicts his fourth double-digit seed to advance to the Sweet 16, an upset favorite begins to emerge.—
Kels Dayton,
Hartford Courant,
17 Mar. 2025
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Rally-goers were seen in footage on social media dispersing frantically during a 15-minute silence that was being observed during the protest.—
David Faris,
Newsweek,
17 Mar. 2025
Adverb
-
For example, consider a scenario where one spouse hastily agrees to a settlement without fully understanding the value of their partner’s stock options.—
Aviva Pinto,
Forbes,
11 Mar. 2025
-
Matt and Bullseye brutally fight their way through Josie’s Bar as smoke floods the room and customers hastily exit.—
Jordan Moreau,
Variety,
5 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Orlando took the helm of the memorial effort in late 2023 amid the messy collapse of the private onePulse foundation.—
Stephen Hudak,
Orlando Sentinel,
13 Mar. 2025
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Ever since, Kim and Kroy have gone back and forth, making accusations against one another in the messy proceedings.—
Liza Esquibias,
People.com,
12 Mar. 2025
Adverb
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For a brief history lesson, Pebble skyrocketed to fame in 2012 through a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign.—
Julian Chokkattu,
WIRED,
18 Mar. 2025
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There’s no question that the wildly popular injectable weight-loss drugs help people drop pounds, lower heart-disease risk, manage obstructive sleep apnea, and more.—
Alice Park,
TIME,
17 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The Trump administration may sell several federal properties in Fort Worth and Dallas as a part of its headlong attempt to slash federal spending.—
Jaime Moore-Carrillo,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
5 Mar. 2025
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The nuclear dilemma makes Tehran’s position all the more fraught, by likely forcing it into a headlong confrontation with the Trump White House.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
25 Feb. 2025
Adverb
-
All of it wild-caught.—
Amy Drew Thompson,
orlandosentinel.com,
14 Aug. 2020
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Our first stop is in a wild-looking stretch 200 yards south of the railroad tracks and State Street.—
Paul A. Smith,
Journal Sentinel,
2 Jan. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Pell-mell.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pell-mell. Accessed 23 Mar. 2025.
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