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whirling dervish

American  

noun

Islam.
  1. a member of a Turkish order of dervishes, or Sufis, whose ritual consists in part of a highly stylized whirling dance.


Example Sentences

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In “Like This,” from the Glass/Wilson virtual reality “Monsters of Grace” originally created in 1998 at UCLA, the 12th century whirling dervish Turkish poet Rumi exalts the wonder of dying of love.

From Los Angeles Times May 21, 2026

“We’ve been here for less than three years and that’s been a whirling dervish of activity,” Boehly said in March.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 11, 2025

She's got this interesting mixture, but she's basically a whirling dervish of a human being.

From Salon Jun. 7, 2023

And so there he was Friday, a whirling dervish of encouragement as Lake Washington sparkled in the background on a glorious spring day at a facility that had the rookies marveling at its grandeur.

From Seattle Times May 13, 2023

She runs at him and he melts before this whirling dervish with a damaged child in her arms and a healthy one stirring inside.

From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt

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