Word Study
chaos
CIDE DICTIONARY
chaos, n. [L. chaos chaos (in senses 1 & 2), Gr. cha`os, fr. cha`inein (root cha) to yawn, to gape, to open widely. Cf. Chasm.].
- An empty, immeasurable space; a yawning chasm. [1913 Webster]"Between us and there is fixed a great chaos." [1913 Webster]
- The confused, unorganized condition or mass of matter before the creation of distinct and orderly forms. [1913 Webster]
- Any confused or disordered collection or state of things; a confused mixture; confusion; disorder. [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
chaos, n.
1 utter confusion.
2 the formless matter supposed to have existed before the creation of the universe.
1 utter confusion.
2 the formless matter supposed to have existed before the creation of the universe.
Derivative
chaotic adj. chaotically adv.
Etymology
F or L f. Gk khaos: - otic after erotic etc.
THESAURUS
chaos
agitation, aloofness, amorphia, amorphism, amorphousness, anarchism, anarcho-syndicalism, anarchy, antinomianism, astronomical unit, bedlam, befuddlement, bewilderment, blurriness, bluster, bother, botheration, brawl, broil, brouhaha, cacophony, celestial spaces, cloud, commotion, confusion, cosmic space, criminal syndicalism, daze, diffusion, discombobulation, discomfiture, discomposure, disconcertion, discontinuity, discreteness, disjunction, dislocation, disorder, disorderliness, disorganization, disorientation, dispersal, dispersion, disruption, dissolution, disturbance, ebullition, embarrassment, embroilment, empty space, entropy, ether space, fabulous formless darkness, fanaticism, ferment, flap, flummox, flurry, fluster, flutter, fog, fomentation, foofaraw, formlessness, foul-up, frenzy, fuddle, fuddlement, fume, furor, furore, fury, fuss, fuzziness, hassle, haze, haziness, hubbub, incoherence, inconsistency, indecisiveness, indefiniteness, indeterminateness, interstellar space, jumble, lawlessness, license, light-year, lynch law, maze, mess, messiness, metagalactic space, misrule, mist, mistiness, mix-up, mob law, mob rule, mobocracy, morass, muddle, muddlement, nihilism, nonadhesion, noncohesion, obscurity, ocean of emptiness, ochlocracy, orderlessness, outer space, pandemonium, parsec, passion, perplexity, perturbation, pother, pressureless space, primal chaos, pucker, racket, rage, rebellion, revolution, row, ruckus, ruffle, rumpus, scattering, screw-up, separateness, shapelessness, shuffle, snafu, space, stew, storminess, sweat, swivet, syndicalism, tempestuousness, the void, the void above, tizzy, tohubohu, tumult, tumultuousness, turbulence, turmoil, unadherence, unadhesiveness, unclearness, unruliness, unsettlement, untenacity, uproar, upset, vagueness, wildness, zeal, zealousnessROGET THESAURUS
chaos
Disorder
N disorder, derangement, irregularity, anomaly, anarchy, anarchism, want of method, untidiness, disunion, discord, confusion, confusedness, mishmash, mix, disarray, jumble, huddle, litter, lumber, cahotage, farrago, mess, mash, muddle, muss, hash, hodgepodge, hotch-potch, hotch-pot, imbroglio, chaos, omnium gatherum, medley, mere mixture, fortuitous concourse of atoms, disjecta membra, rudis indigestaque moles, complexity, turmoil, ferment, to-do, trouble, pudder, pother, row, rumble, disturbance, hubbub, convulsion, tumult, uproar, revolution, riot, rumpus, stour, scramble, brawl, fracas, rhubarb, fight, free-for-all, row, ruction, rumpus, embroilment, melee, spill and pelt, rough and tumble, whirlwind, bear garden, Babel, Saturnalia, donnybrook, Donnybrook Fair, confusion worse confounded, most admired disorder, concordia discors, Bedlam, all hell broke loose, bull in a china shop, all the fat in the fire, diable a' quatre, Devil to pay, pretty kettle of fish, pretty piece of work, pretty piece of business, disorderly person, disorderly persons offence, misdemeanor, slattern, slut (libertine), disorderly, orderless, out of order, out of place, out of gear, irregular, desultory, anomalous, acephalous, deranged, aimless, disorganized, straggling, unmethodical, immethodical, unsymmetric, unsystematic, untidy, slovenly, dislocated, out of sorts, promiscuous, indiscriminate, chaotic, anarchical, unarranged &c (arrange), confused, deranged, topsy-turvy, shapeless, disjointed, out of joint, troublous, riotous, complex, irregularly, by fits, by fits and snatches, by fits and starts, pellmell, higgledy-piggledy, helter-skelter, harum-scarum, in a ferment, at sixes and sevens, at cross-purposes, upside down, the cart before the horse, hysteron proteron, chaos is come again, the wreck of matter and the crush of worlds.Amorphism
N amorphism, informity, unlicked cub, rudis indigestaque moles, disorder, deformity, disfigurement, defacement, mutilation, deforming, chaos, randomness (disorder), fluid, shapeless, amorphous, formless, unformed, unhewn, unfashioned, unshaped, unshapen, rough, rude, Gothic, barbarous, rugged.Agitation
N agitation, stir, tremor, shake, ripple, jog, jolt, jar, jerk, shock, succussion, trepidation, quiver, quaver, dance, jactitation, quassation, shuffling, twitter, flicker, flutter, turbulence, perturbation, commotion, turmoil, disquiet, tumult, tumultuation, hubbub, rout, bustle, fuss, racket, subsultus, staggers, megrims, epilepsy, fits, carphology, chorea, floccillation, the jerks, St. Vitus's dance, tilmus, spasm, throe, throb, palpitation, convulsion, disturbance, chaos, restlessness, ferment, fermentation, ebullition, effervescence, hurly-burly, cahotage, tempest, storm, ground swell, heavy sea, whirlpool, vortex, whirlwind, shaking, agitated tremulous, desultory, subsultory, saltatoric, quasative, shambling, giddy-paced, saltatory, convulsive, unquiet, restless, all of a twitter, by fits and starts, subsultorily, per saltum, hop skip and jump, in convulsions, in fits, tempete dans un verre d'eau.For further exploring for "chaos" in Webster Dictionary Online