mayhem

[mey-hem, mey-uhm]

noun

1. Law.,  the crime of willfully inflicting a bodily injury on another so as to make the victim less capable of self-defense or, under modern statutes, so as to cripple or mutilate the victim.

2. random or deliberate violence or damage.

3. a state of rowdy disorder.

   Antagonisms between the various factions at the meeting finally boiled over, and mayhem ensued.

mayhem

/ ˈmeɪhɛm /

noun

1. law the wilful and unlawful infliction of injury upon a person, esp (formerly) the injuring or removing of a limb rendering him less capable of defending himself against attack

2. any violent destruction or confusion

Word History and Origins

Origin of mayhem¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English maheym, maim, from Anglo-French mahe(i)m, mahaim, from Germanic; akin to Middle High German meidem “gelding,” Old Norse meitha “to injure”; maim

Word History and Origins

Origin of mayhem¹

C15: from Anglo-French mahem injury, from Germanic; related to Icelandic meitha to hurt. See _maim

Example Sentences

But to qualify for the genre itself—and satisfy the base demands of the base—a movie is required to both accelerate toward lunacy and entertain a certain amount of mayhem.

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"They want mayhem on the ground. They want to create the war zone so that they can send in even more troops," he told CNN's Jake Tapper.

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On Wednesday morning, the president weighed in again, writing on Truth Social, “Conditions continue to deteriorate into lawless mayhem.”

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After two-and-a-half hours, the show ends with Gaga announcing she has defeated the "mistress of mayhem".

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Finding a way to cause such mayhem on a consistent basis is the challenge for Newcastle.

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Related Words

• anarchy 
• commotion 
• destruction 
• fracas 
• havoc 
• pandemonium 
• violence