How to Use chaos theory in a Sentence

chaos theory

noun
  • So, thanks to chaos theory our future is never knowable to us.
    — Keith Kloor, Discover Magazine, 19 Jan. 2013
  • At least, that’s the idea in the mathematical world of chaos theory.
    — Matt Simon, Wired, 25 Jan. 2021
  • That’s what chaos theory guy (Jeff Goldblum) seems to promise in the trailer.
    — Gary Thompson, Philly.com, 20 June 2018
  • And it is rescued not by quantum mechanics, as some physicists argue, but by chaos theory.
    — Keith Kloor, Discover Magazine, 19 Jan. 2013
  • About a decade later, chaos theory started to catch on in scientific circles.
    — Joshua Sokol, WIRED, 26 May 2019
  • That was perfectly obvious long before the advent of chaos theory.
    — Sean Carroll, Discover Magazine, 5 Dec. 2011
  • The flap of a butterfly's wings can cause a typhoon half the world away, at least according to popular versions of the idea known as chaos theory.
    — WSJ, 9 Aug. 2023
  • Your inner Stoppard gong should ring at that; this is the playwright who taught us chaos theory and probability.
    — Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2022
  • But that’s about where the chaos theory ended in this NCAA tournament.
    — Greg Bishop, SI.com, 25 Mar. 2018
  • The challenge Yanagihara sets for the reader isn’t so much to decode a puzzle as to survive a plunge into chaos theory.
    — Jordan Kisner, The Atlantic, 21 Dec. 2021
  • Others use chaos theory, deep learning or hybrid algorithms to secure video and image content.
    — Yashas Hariprasad, The Conversation, 1 Aug. 2025
  • Others use chaos theory, deep learning or hybrid algorithms to secure video and image content.
    — Yashas Hariprasad, Space.com, 6 Aug. 2025
  • Well, in chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the phenomenon where a small change in a complex system can have large effects elsewhere.
    — Noelle Devoe, Seventeen, 9 Feb. 2018
  • With that Stoppard explains chaos theory, which better explains the behaviour of breast cancer.
    — Jonny Diamond, Literary Hub, 2 Dec. 2025
  • Ironically, Al Gore was a big devotee of chaos theory and his defeat is an illustration of that idea.
    — Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2022
  • Researchers have made breakthroughs in geometry, topology, chaos theory, and more.
    — Clara Moskowitz, Scientific American, 19 Dec. 2025
  • Other data points corroborate the chaos theory.
    — Lev Akabas, Sportico.com, 6 May 2026
  • The drawing corner includes four pages covered in blue-ink sketches by Otto Rössler, a German biochemist who works on chaos theory.
    — Marissa Fessenden, Scientific American, 21 Dec. 2012
  • Like his genius, in the lively show-and-tell (which even science-phobes can grasp) probing of the theory of relativity in relation to quantum physics and chaos theory.
    — Misha Berson, The Seattle Times, 26 Sep. 2017
  • His chaos theory of White House management, on morbid public display this week, also means no one on Capitol Hill knows who is in charge.
    — The Editorial Board, WSJ, 28 July 2017
  • Successful organizations are usually not built on the chaos theory and an unclear line of authority.
    — John Cherwa, Los Angeles Times, 27 Nov. 2020
  • In chaos theory, there’s a concept known as the butterfly effect—the idea that a seemingly small action, occurring at just the right moment, can trigger ripple effects that grow across time and space.
    — Robert Pearl, Forbes.com, 27 Apr. 2025
  • More than many other abstruse areas of higher mathematics, chaos theory has captured the public imagination.
    — Martin Weil, BostonGlobe.com, 14 July 2019
  • These pieces aren't simply inspired by chaos theory; they were directly created from its mathematical principles.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 24 Jan. 2023
  • Precisely when and where these 5-mile-wide thermals of warm buoyant air will bubble up is chaos theory, beyond the ability of even high-resolution weather models to discern.
    — Paul Douglas, Star Tribune, 7 Apr. 2021
  • Further, the emphasis on initial conditions in chaos theory reminded me that understanding and formulating what brought the patient to our doors is vital.
    — Sharmila B. Mehta, STAT, 30 Aug. 2023
  • Fans’ keen observations connected the butterfly motifs and Stormi’s name, pointing out chaos theory in the idea that a butterfly flapping its wings can create a storm somewhere far away.
    — Karen Mizoguchi, PEOPLE.com, 9 Feb. 2018
  • Fans all over social media have made the connection between the butterfly effect and Stormi’s name, pointing out chaos theory in the idea that a butterfly flapping its wings can create a storm somewhere far away.
    — Jen Juneau, PEOPLE.com, 17 Apr. 2018
  • The butterfly effect, an appendage of chaos theory, suggests that a minor change in circumstances can lead to unpredictable, untrackable significant outcomes.
    — Prem Thakker, The New Republic, 1 Feb. 2023
  • Tricksters illustrate the capriciousness of nature, or perhaps even embrace chaos theory, which asserts that chaos and order are not necessarily in opposition.
    — James Deutsch, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 June 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'chaos theory.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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