Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

maelstrom

American  
[meyl-struhm] / ˈmeɪl strəm /

noun

  1. a large, powerful, or violent whirlpool.

  2. a restless, disordered, or tumultuous state of affairs.

    the maelstrom of early morning traffic.
    Synonyms:
    bedlam, pandemonium, tumult

  3. (initial capital letter) a famous hazardous whirlpool off the NW coast of Norway.

maelstrom 1 British  
/ ˈmeɪlstrəʊm /

noun

  1. a large powerful whirlpool

  2. any turbulent confusion

"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
Maelstrom 2 British  
/ ˈmeɪlstrəʊm /

noun

  1. a strong tidal current in a restricted channel in the Lofoten Islands off the NW coast of Norway

"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

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 • Feb. 23, 2026

Karp led one of the country’s biggest law firms for 18 years and had survived a maelstrom less than a year ago when he struck a first-of-its-kind settlement with President Trump on his firm’s behalf.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 5, 2026

By morning, the clouds parted, and we found we survived the meteorological maelstrom relatively intact.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 23, 2025

In the maelstrom, Root stood tall to notch one of the few milestones missing from a glittering career.

From BBC • Dec. 4, 2025

Her wet clothes and gear dragged at her, but just as her lungs were about to burst, she broke the surface into the maelstrom.

From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld

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.