hurly-burlies

noun

plural of hurly-burly
as in disturbances
a state of noisy, confused activity lost sight of his children in all the hurly-burly of the fair

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hurly-burlies
  1. disturbances
  2. commotions
  3. stirs
  4. noises
  5. fun
  6. turmoils
  7. furors
  8. rackets
Noun
  • Gary Griggs, a geologist at UC Santa Cruz, said the elevated water levels are linked to El Niño conditions and ocean disturbances known as Kelvin waves.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Sleep disturbances are common in depression, and night owls (who tend to get less sleep than early birds) are likely to have more and worse depressive symptoms.
    — Payal Dhar, Scientific American, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of disturbances
Noun
  • Over the past year, men’s ski jumping has been marred by Norway’s cheating scandal and more recent genital manipulation rumors, which has become one of the early commotions of the Milano-Cortina Games.
    — Sara Germano, Sportico.com, 8 Feb. 2026
Definition of commotions
Noun
  • Refrigerated pie crust helps this pie come together with just a few stirs of the whisk.
    — Patricia S York, Southern Living, 19 Apr. 2026
Definition of stirs
Noun
  • Some owners say their phones made unusual noises before the screens failed.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 29 Oct. 2026
  • Roz Ryan brought the laughs (and trumpet noises) as Thalia, the mischievous muse of comedy.
    — Kelly Martinez, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of noises
Noun
  • And senior Donavyn Pellot joined the fun Saturday, recording the first interception of his career and returning it 67 yards, flipping the field, and turning the tide of the game.
    — Connor Dullinger, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Milhouse’s wishes come true when the Grand Pumpkin turns out to be real, but he’s pissed that humans carve up his pumpkin brothers and sisters for fun.
    — Joshua Kurp, Vulture, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of fun
Noun
  • About two couples, connected and dependent on one another, raising their kids alongside each other, facing the same turmoils, the same existential questions.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Mayer and Strong offer a broad pop-history lesson, in which the same tensions and turmoils churn on and on in their terrible cycle throughout the decades; the only thing that’s changed are the aesthetics.
    — Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Definition of turmoils
Noun
  • There are several other ongoing furors about the president’s propensity to use his power in unusually personal ways.
    — Niall Stanage, The Hill, 5 Oct. 2025
Definition of furors
Noun
  • Their rackets—plunder, opium trafficking, and much else—were often run not by members of established yakuza gangs but by fixers and political operators who exploited their connections with the Imperial Japanese Army.
    — Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Those trunks held an eclectic assortment of products including tennis rackets, fishing rods, golf bags and men’s ties, dress shirts and suits.
    — Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of rackets
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Hurly-burlies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hurly-burlies. Accessed 31 Oct. 2026.

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