play havoc

Idioms  

1. Also,. Disrupt, damage, or destroy something, as in The wind played havoc with her hair, or The fire alarm raised havoc with the children, or The earthquake wrought havoc in the town. The noun havoc was once used as a command for invaders to begin looting and killing, but by the 1800s the term was being used for somewhat less aggressive activities. For a synonym, see play the devil with.

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Example Sentences

Factors that vary widely throughout the region—such as seafloor topography, temperature, salinity and the presence of fresh water from melting ice—can play havoc with sonar signals.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026

President Masoud Pezeshkian promised dialogue and acknowledged "legitimate demands" in in a country where inflation soars near 50%, and currency depreciations play havoc with people's hardscrabble lives.

From BBC • Jan. 12, 2026

To begin, while official data is back online following the end of the government shutdown, release delays, calendar quirks, and holiday anomalies continue to play havoc.

From Barron's • Dec. 5, 2025

Besides the toll the system takes on veterans, vacancies in apartment units reserved for veterans play havoc with the bottom lines of subsidized buildings that were financed on the basis of guaranteed revenue from vouchers.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 29, 2025

“From the south. A small garrison in Moat Cailin can play havoc with any army coming up the causeway, but the ruins are vulnerable from the north and east.”

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin