maelstrom

CEFRC2

/ˈmeɪl.stɹəm/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A situation of great confusion, violence, or disorder.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A chaotic or turbulent situation.

Examples

  • The maelstrom of passions is not what we need now.

  • The falukah plunged over a waterfall and was almost submerged, was caught again in a maelstrom and went twirling on in the blackness.

At a glance

Sits at C2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
3
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
2

Also pronounced

  • /ˈmæl.stɹəm/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meaning

  1. A large and violent whirlpool.

More examples

In context

  • To his right fell a gleaming sheet of water, and below it was a maelstrom, that made one giddy by its terrific gyrations.

  • A hulking shape burst through the doorway and hurtled down the corridor, leaving a maelstrom of air currents in his wake.

  • He escaped at last, dizzy from the maelstrom of conflicting emotions that had caught and whirled him.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

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

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

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 ma...