maelstrom
Americannoun
-
a large, powerful, or violent whirlpool.
-
a restless, disordered, or tumultuous state of affairs.
the maelstrom of early morning traffic.
- Synonyms:
- bedlam, pandemonium, tumult
-
(initial capital letter) a famous hazardous whirlpool off the NW coast of Norway.
noun
-
a large powerful whirlpool
-
any turbulent confusion
noun
Etymology
Origin of maelstrom
1550–60 maelstrom for def. 3; < early Dutch maelstroom, now spelling maalstroom, representing mal ( en ) to grind + stroom stream. See meal 2, stream
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Her take is a maelstrom of splendid beauty and doomed love, colliding at a feverish pace that makes the fidelity to Brontë’s book moot.
From Salon
Amid the maelstrom of the closing minutes in Cardiff there was a slightly comedic moment.
From BBC
What I have noticed, however, is the lack of their equivalents in our present media maelstrom.
From Salon
The 31-year-old wife of Brooklyn Beckham has found herself in the centre of a media maelstrom following her husband's explosive social media post taking aim at his A-list parents, Sir David and Lady Victoria.
From BBC
The country of 52 million, with the world’s No. 14 economy, has emerged from the maelstrom of 2025 in a geoeconomic sweet spot.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
