balagan
1
9.9
- noun
- /bɑːləˈɡɑːn/
- UK
- Let's not have another balagan like we just had up north!
Examples
-
I see only one way through this balagan," he said, munching on a sandwich she had put in his hand, unaware of what he was eating.
Fiction book (1993) -
The party ended in a balagan as guests began arguing and shouting at each other.
-
And then and there, the state had been born in balagan!
Fiction book (1993) -
"Biggest balagan you ever saw," said Jinji hoarsely.
Fiction book (1993) -
Balagan.
Fiction book (1993) -
Of such was the Battle of Mitla Pass; half sublime, half balagan, a heroic fiasco, an inside-out Thermopylae fought to no purpose whatever.
Fiction book (1993) -
But after three millennia, the Jews were exactly the same quarrelsome Israelites of the Exodus, with the same God, the same language, and the same national character, including the same ineradicable tendency to veer forever between the sublime and the balagan.
Fiction book (1993) -
The event turned into a balagan when the speakers failed to arrive on time.
-
After the storm, the town was left in a state of balagan, with debris scattered everywhere.
Synonyms
129
4.8
A time of great confusion and disorder
20
8.0
A loud, wild situation of disorder and confusion
10
8.2
A noisy scene where people are confused and out of control
1
9.9
A confusing, chaotic situation with many mixed-up parts
1
9.9
A very messy place or situation
Antonyms
How Chaotic
Surface Forms
Etymology
Balagan comes from an old word for a noisy booth or small circus used in Russian and Hebrew. Because those places were loud and full of confusion, balagan now means a 'chaotic mess' or a 'fiasco'.