chaotic
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of chaotic
Explanation
Something chaotic is really out of control or disorganized. Chaotic starts with a hard "K" sound (kay-AH-tick), but things that are chaotic are usually not OK, they're crazy disordered, like your crammed locker at the end of the school year. Chaotic is an adjective that comes from the noun "chaos," meaning complete and total confusion or lack of order. Your teacher might find it chaotic inside the bus on the way home from a field trip, with so much talking and singing and stored up energy bouncing around. A classic example of something chaotic is the running of the bulls in Spain, an event that lets people run the streets with a bunch of huge, sharp-horned bulls. It's totally chaotic!
Vocabulary lists containing chaotic
"Marigolds"
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"Names/Nombres" by Julia Alvarez
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50 Great Words from The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon
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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.
Ilyas Lebleu, an A.I. research student based in France who edits Wikipedia under the username Chaotic Enby, first wrote the proposal that was debated and adopted as the site’s A.I. ban.
From Slate • Apr. 1, 2026
Chaotic scenes followed of panicked passers-by, parents scrambling to retrieve their children from school, queues at bakeries and endless traffic jams.
From Barron's • Mar. 7, 2026
Chaotic scenes have been unfolding in Bukavu in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as the M23 rebel group continues its offensive in the region.
From BBC • Feb. 15, 2025
Chaotic scenes of sickness and filth unfold at the U.N. shelters in Rafah, bursting at the seams.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 7, 2023
To irradiate with intelligence, that is to say, with order, arrangement and all blessedness, the Chaotic, Unintelligent: how, except by educating, can you accomplish this?
From Past and Present Thomas Carlyle's Collected Works, Vol. XIII. by Carlyle, Thomas
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.
