MAYHEM

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does mayhem mean? 

• MAYHEM (noun)
  The noun MAYHEM has 2 senses:

1. the willful and unlawful crippling or mutilation of another person

2. violent and needless disturbance

  Familiarity information: MAYHEM used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• MAYHEM (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The willful and unlawful crippling or mutilation of another person

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("mayhem" is a kind of...):

crime; criminal offence; criminal offense; law-breaking ((criminal law) an act punishable by law; usually considered an evil act)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Violent and needless disturbance

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

havoc; mayhem

Hypernyms ("mayhem" is a kind of...):

disturbance (the act of disturbing something or someone; setting something in motion)

 Context examples 

When it crashed into the young Milky Way, it caused a lot of mayhem.

(The Gaia Sausage: the major collision that changed the Milky Way, University of Cambridge)

Uranus rules Aquarius, so we do have to take seriously the mayhem that this planet of surprises can bring.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Be sure to back up computer programs, insert the most up-to-date software in your operating system, and protect the privacy of clients and customers, lest you end up dealing with a hacker. (Uranus, a leader at this new moon, rules computers and software and could easily create mayhem.)

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)