chaotic

[ key-ot-ik ]

adjective

1. completely confused or disordered:

   a chaotic mass of books and papers.

   Antonyms: systematic, orderly

Other Words From

• cha·oti·cal·ly adverb
• noncha·otic adjective
• noncha·oti·cal·ly adverb
• semi·cha·otic adjective
• semi·cha·oti·cal·ly adverb
• uncha·otic adjective
• uncha·oti·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of chaotic¹

First recorded in 1705–15; chao(s) + -tic

Example Sentences

We’re grappling with a new chaotic and climate-changed reality.

From Popular-Science

That would be hard to do with the chaotic churning of the sun.

From Science News

Simulations from Kraus’s team, though, found that the chaotic gravity from the triple stars’ orbital dance alone was enough to break up the disk, a phenomenon called disk tearing.

From Science News

Electrical signals are fairly chaotic in the brain, and filtering spikes from noise, as well as separating trains of electrical activity into spikes, normally requires quite a bit of processing power.

From Singularity Hub 

Even when the economy and the news advertising market recovers, your support will be a critical part of sustaining our resource-intensive work — and helping everyone make sense of an increasingly chaotic world.

From Vox

Nobody knows chaotic living quite like Don Draper, what with juggling high profile clients, his many paramours, and travel.

From The Daily Beast

The universe becomes a chaotic universe if you have a parent or authority figure who just punishes you totally randomly.

From The Daily Beast

Which brings us back to the chaotic scene at 26 Federal Plaza.

From The Daily Beast

Instead, “the Father of the Constitution” stayed home to try to make sense of his notes of the chaotic Convention thus far.

From The Daily Beast

Bureaucrats confide that the reason ticket counters at train stations are so chaotic is to encourage bribes.

From The Daily Beast

Human life will continue to be more and more dangerously chaotic until a world social idea crystallizes out.

From Project Gutenberg

But, as generally happens, in the course of passing from ignorance to knowledge, the intermediate stage was chaotic.

From Project Gutenberg

He scarcely thought, though his lips moved, as if chaotic words were struggling for utterance.

From Project Gutenberg

I was trying—chaotic task—to gauge the possibilities inherent in the quality of the British aristocracy.

From Project Gutenberg

For a while, however, royal governors still remained, and government was everywhere in a chaotic state.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• anarchic
• disorganized
• helter-skelter
• lawless
• tumultuous
• turbulent