maelstrom
/ˈmeɪlstrəm
/noun
1A powerful whirlpool in the sea or a river.Together they stood in the foretops and conned the ship in through the seething maelstrom of the equatorial current....
- One lugworm and a thin strip of squid will not get very far in a seething maelstrom of a sea where the tide is screaming through and you have other anglers all around you.
- He didn't fight, didn't even scream as the icy water flooded in and he was sucked down into the maelstrom.
Synonyms
whirlpool, vortex, eddy, swirl
literary Charybdis
1.1A situation or state of confused movement or violent turmoil: the train station was a maelstrom of crowds...
- My home usually seemed more like a maelstrom of chaos and disorder.
- Now, astronomers have found further evidence that Centaurus A is a maelstrom of violence.
- Different colors of mana spun and swirled in a maelstrom of colorful fury.
Synonyms
turbulence, tumult, turmoil, uproar, commotion, disorder, jumble, disarray, chaos, confusion, upheaval, seething mass, welter, pandemonium, bedlam, whirlwind, swirl
Origin
Late 17th century: from early modern Dutch (denoting a mythical whirlpool in the Arctic Ocean, west of Norway), from maalen 'grind, whirl' + stroom 'stream'.