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definitions

flurried

[flur-eed, fluhr-]
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adjective
  1. marked by confusion or agitation.

Origin of flurried

flurry + -ed2
Related formsun·flur·ried, adjective

flurry

[flur-ee, fluhr-ee]
noun, plural flur·ries.
  1. a light, brief shower of snow.
  2. sudden commotion, excitement, or confusion; nervous hurry: There was a flurry of activity before the guests arrived.
  3. Stock Exchange.
    1. a brief rise or fall in prices.
    2. a brief, unusually heavy period of trading.
  4. a sudden gust of wind.
verb (used with object), flur·ried, flur·ry·ing.
  1. to put (a person) into a flurry; confuse; fluster.
verb (used without object), flur·ried, flur·ry·ing.
  1. (of snow) to fall or be blown in a flurry.
  2. to move in an excited or agitated manner.

Origin of flurry

1680–90, Americanism; blend of flutter and hurry
Related formsflur·ried·ly, adverb

Synonyms for flurry

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2. upset, pother, stir, to-do, fuss, fluster, ado.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for flurried

unsettle, perturb, rattle, disconcert, hassle, provoke, quicken, discompose, bewilder, disquiet, unhinge, galvanize, hustle, ruffle, fuss, discombobulate, excite, frustrate, bustle, perplex

Examples from the Web for flurried

Historical Examples of flurried

  • Let me impart my confidence to you, you flurried little thing, in my own way.

    Little Dorrit

    Charles Dickens

  • It was remarkable how pale and flurried he had become in an instant.

  • Neither was she overawed or flurried when her callers entered.

    Cap'n Dan's Daughter

    Joseph C. Lincoln

  • "No, I don't," answered she in a flurried way, blushing to the roots of her hair.

  • Indeed, his flurried manner as he resumed the letter proved it.

    Roland Cashel

    Charles James Lever

British Dictionary definitions for flurried

flurry

noun plural -ries
  1. a sudden commotion or burst of activity
  2. a light gust of wind or rain or fall of snow
  3. stock exchange a sudden brief increase in trading or fluctuation in stock prices
  4. the death spasms of a harpooned whale
verb -ries, -rying or -ried
  1. to confuse or bewilder or be confused or bewildered

Word Origin for flurry

C17: from obsolete flurr to scatter, perhaps formed on analogy with hurry
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for flurried

flurry

v.

1757 in the commotion sense, from flurry (n.); 1883 in the snow sense. Related: Flurried; flurries; flurrying.

flurry

n.

"snow squall" 1828, American English, with earlier senses of "commotion," etc., dating to 1680s; perhaps imitative, or else from 17c. flurr "to scatter, fly with a whirring noise," perhaps from Middle English flouren "to sprinkle, as with flour" (late 14c.).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper