How do you use the word "maelstrom" in a sentence?

Here are real-life examples of using "maelstrom": The maelstrom of passions is not what we need now.

Maelstrom Meaning

/ˈmeɪl.stɹəm/

Definition, CEFR level C2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

Definition

nounA large and violent whirlpool.

nounA chaotic or turbulent situation.

Sentence Examples

The maelstrom of passions is not what we need now.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms:

whirlpool

Antonyms:

None

CEFR Practice Quiz

The ship was pulled into a dangerous ____ of swirling water and strong currents.

CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)

The small boat was nearly sucked into the powerful ____ that had formed in the middle of the ocean.

Word Origin & History

The word was originally the name of a giant whirlpool off Norway in the Arctic Ocean which was said to destroy all ships that came close to it, likely the actual tidal pool system of Moskstraumen in Lofoten. It is borrowed from early modern Dutch maelstrom (“whirlpool”) (obsolete) (modern Dutch maalstroom), from malen (“to whirl around; to grind”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *melh₂- (“to crush, grind”)) + stroom (“stream; river; current or flow of water or other liquid”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *srew- (“to flow, stream”)), and was popularized by Edgar Allen Poe’s short story A Descent into the Maelström (1841). Cognates * Danish malstrøm * German Mahlstrom * Swedish malström

Literary Quotations & Historical Citations

"To his right fell a gleaming sheet of water, and below it was a maelstrom, that made one giddy by its terrific gyrations." — 1905, James Edward Preston Muddock, “A Petrified Forest”, in The Sunless City […], London: F. V. White & Co., →OCLC:

"The falukah plunged over a waterfall and was almost submerged, was caught again in a maelstrom and went twirling on in the blackness." — 1914 November 14, Arthur Train, [Robert Williams Wood], “The Man Who Rocked the Earth”, in The Saturday Evening Post, volume 187, number 20, Philadelphia, Pa.; London: Curtis Publishing Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, chapter VI, page 65, column 2:

"A hulking shape burst through the doorway and hurtled down the corridor, leaving a maelstrom of air currents in his wake." — 2001 April 26, Eoin Colfer, “Troll”, in Artemis Fowl, New York, N.Y.; Toronto, Ont.: Scholastic, published September 2001, →ISBN, page 212:

"It was of Jean Paul's doing: some single billow in that vast World-Mahlstrom of Humour, with its heaven-kissing coruscations, which is now, alas, all congealed in the frost of death!" — 1831, Thomas Carlyle, “Characteristics”, in Sartor Resartus: The Life and Opinions of Herr Teufelsdröckh. […], London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, 1st book, page 22:

"He escaped at last, dizzy from the maelstrom of conflicting emotions that had caught and whirled him." — 1922, Harry Leon Wilson, “‘Five Reels—500 Laughs’”, in Merton of the Movies, Garden City, N.Y.; Toronto, Ont.: Doubleday, Page & Company, →OCLC, page 310:

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