hurly-burly
1
9.6
- noun
- /ˈhɜrliˌbɜrli/
- Literature
:
alboroto
- The children were excited as they played in the hurly-burly of the festival, with music and laughter all around.
- escape from the hurly-burly
- hurly-burly of journalism
- hurly-burly of life
Examples
-
Where the West and the "state of nature" represented by Indian tribes symbolized escape in the Early Republic, the plantation and the "simple" agrarian life of the past emerged as a model of escape in the hurly-burly of the turn of the twentieth century.
Academic text (2017) -
Get away from the hurly-burly for a little while.
Fiction book (1996) -
When the hurly-burly's done, when the battle's lost and won.
Fiction book (1998) -
In this hurly-burly of insanity
-
Well, Bian, so much for hurly-burly, so much for winning and losing battles.
Fiction book (1998) -
"I do think judges should be somewhat on pedestals and above the hurly-burly."
Academic text (2007) -
Nevertheless, Rousseau was simply wrong to have wanted to ignore the "hurly-burly" that surrounds the silent and exemplary life of Robinson Crusoe.
Academic text (1998) -
And, say proponents, becoming sensitive to the role of apology in one's practice can provide a lens through which the human side of a case—the side that is often overlooked in the hurly-burly of litigation—can be gauged.
Academic text (1999) -
She felt overwhelmed by the hurly-burly of the busy market, where vendors shouted to attract customers.
-
In the hurly-burly of the protest, it was hard to hear the speakers over the noisy crowd.
Synonyms
262
7.0
A noisy fuss about something not important
180
3.7
A strong public reaction of anger or protest
138
4.8
A time of great confusion and disorder
80
4.2
A short time of excitement and activity
73
4.1
A noisy situation when people are excited or confused
53
4.3
A busy, energetic time or place with a lot of movement
47
3.9
A loud, confused noise and activity by a group of people
45
3.7
A noisy event in a public place that bothers other people
31
6.8
A loud, confused noise made by people arguing or shouting
22
8.0
A loud, wild situation of disorder and confusion
20
4.1
Busy, noisy movement in a place with many people
18
7.7
A time of strong political or social disorder
17
5.1
A loud, confused noise made by a crowd
12
7.7
A noisy, confused situation with a crowd behaving badly
11
7.6
Loud noise and activity, often with people shouting
8
8.8
A small noisy fuss when people disagree
7
7.4
A strong public argument or time of great trouble
7
7.9
A loud noisy fuss made by people, often during protests or celebrations
4
4.9
A short sudden commotion in a group
1
9.6
A noisy fuss about something unimportant
1
9.9
A noisy disturbance among people in one place
1
9.4
A noisy fuss that causes excitement and arguments
1
9.9
A noisy argument or fight that makes a place loud and confused
1
6.8
Loud noisy activity that causes confusion
A state of loud noise and confusion
A sudden violent crowd event that causes confusion and danger
A chaotic rushed situation that happens because of poor planning
Antonyms
How Noisy
Surface Forms
Etymology
Hurly-burly is a playful repeating of sounds from older English that shows noisy activity, and a helpful way to remember it is to think of hurl ('to throw') and brawl ('a noisy fight'). So, hurly-burly means 'a noisy commotion or chaos'.