hurly-burly

[hur-lee-bur-lee, -bur-]

noun

plural

hurly-burlies 

1. noisy disorder and confusion; commotion; uproar; tumult.

adjective

1. full of commotion; tumultuous.

hurly-burly

/ ˈhɜːlɪˈbɜːlɪ /

noun

1. confusion or commotion

adjective

1. turbulent

Word History and Origins

Origin of hurly-burly¹

1520–30; alteration of hurling ( and ) burling, rhyming phrase based on hurling in its (now obsolete) sense of tumult, uproar

Word History and Origins

Origin of hurly-burly¹

C16: from earlier hurling and burling, rhyming phrase based on hurling in obsolete sense of uproar

Example Sentences

Yet by 2021’s “Solar Power,” Lorde was singing about abandoning the hurly-burly of pop stardom in the always-on social-media era.

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In addition, the FBI said it was investigating a possible shooting that had taken place amid the hurly-burly of protests outside the gates of Glass House, one of the largest legal cannabis operations in the state.

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But mostly for my parents, who had worked so hard for so many years to create a refuge from the hurly-burly of the outside world.

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Mustard admires the fact that, rather than engage in the hurly-burly of social media, Lamar will disappear from public view for long stretches of time.

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The idea was that it would be a space of refuge, the embodiment of freedom and creativity, just blocks from the hurly-burly of undergraduate housing, restaurants, bars and bookstores that form the heart of Berkeley’s southside.

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