pandemonium

American  

[pan-duh-moh-nee-uhm] / ˌpæn dəˈmoʊ ni əm /

noun

1. wild uproar or unrestrained disorder; tumult or chaos.

   Synonyms:

   babel, turmoil, bedlam

2. a place or scene of riotous uproar or utter chaos.

   Synonyms:

   babel, turmoil, bedlam

3. (often initial capital letter) the abode of all the demons.

4. hell.

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pandemonium British  

/ ˌpændɪˈmɒnɪk, ˌpændɪˈməʊnɪəm /

noun

1. wild confusion; uproar

2. a place of uproar and chaos

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Other Word Forms

• pandemoniac adjective
• pandemoniacal adjective
• pandemonian adjective
• pandemonic adjective

Etymology

Origin of pandemonium

1660–70; after Pandaemonium, Milton's name in Paradise Lost for the capital of hell; pan-, demon, -ium

Example Sentences

There was pandemonium as people tried to flee in canoes while others were rescued by government boats.

From Literature

I stand amid the pandemonium, clutching my burlap sack, unable to pull my eyes from the sky.

From Literature

Amine Adli prodded home to make it 3-2 with nearly the last touch of the game after a scramble in the box following a long throw, sparking scenes of pandemonium.

From Barron's

“What’s this, Nell? Maybe it’s the pandemonium that comes and goes around us affecting my hearing. But from what I can tell by the sound of it, your boots aren’t making their usual heavy thumping.”

From Literature

"It was pandemonium and chaos," another attendee, who identified himself as Barry, said as he described watching a throng of people trying to escape the scene that had suddenly devolved into a nightmare.

From BBC

Related Words

• anarchy
• brouhaha
• chaos
• hue and cry
• ruckus
• tumult
• uproar