turmoil
Americannoun
-
a state of great commotion, confusion, or disturbance; tumult; agitation; disquiet.
mental turmoil caused by difficult decisions.
- Synonyms:
- uproar, disorder, turbulence
-
Obsolete. hard labor; toil.
noun
verb
Synonym Usage
See agitation.
Etymology
Origin of turmoil
First recorded in 1520–30; originally as verb: “to agitate”; etymology uncertain; perhaps tur(n) + moil
Explanation
Mashed potatoes flew in one direction, peas in another. Kids were standing on chairs. The principal was shouting, but no one listened. "Food fight!" the seniors cried. The cafeteria was in a state of turmoil. Turmoil rhymes with boil — think of the way that boiling water moves, and you'll understand what turmoil looks like. It refers to confusion, chaos, violent disturbance. The economy can be in turmoil — the markets behaving erratically, people losing their jobs, and no one understanding why.
Vocabulary lists containing turmoil
List 1
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This Week in Words: October 13 – 20, 2018
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Franklin Roosevelt, "Four Freedoms" (1941)
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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.
"He was already a star living all over the world, mixing in high society, staying in grand hotels -- and usually in some sort of emotional turmoil."
From Barron's • Jun. 12, 2026
The script is glancingly empathetic to Jane’s moral turmoil but like Daniel, the film has made up its mind before the movie started.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026
He said that family, friends and neighbours rallied around him in the days after the crash, helping him through the immediate turmoil after his son's death.
From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026
In telling the little-known story of the Harlem Cultural Festival held in 1969, “Summer of Soul” presents it as a revolutionary act of Black joy, standing in contrast to the political turmoil.
From Salon • Jun. 7, 2026
They were clannish, responding to the harshness and turmoil of their environment by forming tight family bonds and placing loyalty to blood above all else.
From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
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.
