Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A very noisy place: "The whole lobby was a perfect pandemonium, and the din was terrific” ( Jerome K. Jerome).
- n. Wild uproar or noise. See Synonyms at noise.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The abode of all the demons or evil spirits; hell: a name invented and used by Milton rather as a proper name than a general term.
- n. Hence Any lawless, disorderly, and noisy place or assemblage.
- n. A loud noise, as from pandemonium.
Wiktionary
- n. archaic A place where all demons live; Hell.
- n. Chaos; tumultuous or lawless violence.
- n. An outburst; loud, riotous uproar, especially of a crowd.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. The great hall or council chamber of demons or evil spirits.
- n. An utterly lawless, riotous place or assemblage.
- n. A condition of unrestrained disorder and chaotic, riotous uproar.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a state of extreme confusion and disorder
Etymologies
- Coined by John Milton in "Paradise Lost," Pandæmonium, from Ancient Greek πᾶν (pan, "all") (equivalent to English pan-) + Late Latin daemonium ("evil spirit, demon"), from Ancient Greek δαίμων (daimōn, "demon"). (Wiktionary)
- From Pandæmonium, capital of Hell in Paradise Lost, an epic poem by John Milton : Greek pan-, pan- + Late Latin daemonium, demon (from Greek daimonion, from daimōn, lesser god, demon; see demon). (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“The pandemonium is still in the air, the giddy excitement from winning again.”
“Conditions at the hospital were poor and Bedlam had entered the English language as a byword for pandemonium.”
“By the mid-sixteenth century, Bethlem had become Bedlam, a byword for pandemonium.”
“More pandemonium is expected now that Nebraska has returned.”
“When it missed, Madison Square Garden erupted in pandemonium - as opposite a collective emotion as there could be from the way the crowd felt at halftime.”
“It may not simply be coincidence that the word "pandemonium" -- uproar and noise -- comes right after it in the dictionary.”
“It’s the mental imagine of your mother freaking out over her beige carpet while all the pandemonium is going on that cracks me up.”
“Finally, there was no better place than Tokyo to sample Level 5's take on animation giants Studio Ghibli's style in the PS3 version of RPG Ni no Kuni (out next year); featuring beautifully rendered cel-shading, with breathtaking character animation, its evocative, quiet charm amid the pandemonium was a show stealer.”
The Guardian: Special report: Tokyo Game Show and Eurogamer Expo, London
“What has been all but overlooked in the pandemonium is the catastrophic damage he is doing abroad to the prospects for the defence of the free world.”
On Thursday, the Legg report will be published along with...
“He maintained a steady sense of the sacred in the midst of pandemonium, which is what good priests do!”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘pandemonium’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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Not in the Periodic Table
Words that sound like they might be the names of elements of the periodic table, but that aren't. Many of the words listed here were actually proposed as names for substances their creators thought...
tentorium, columbarium, nasturtium, deuterium, caladium, valerian, concordium, synangium, chorium, geranium, hymenium, pyrenium and 310 more...
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Sue's favorite words
panache, flair, pantaloons, periwinkle, pumpernickel, persnickety, cachet, coquette, élan, iris, ambrosia, keen and 99 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11250 more...
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my fab list
blowsabella, aperçu, froideur, salubrious, abject, gallipot, mumchance, wainscot, virago, macerate, lascivious, clandestine and 181 more...
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GRE 2014
abase, abate, abdicate, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abjure, abortive, abound, abrasive, abreast, abridge and 1577 more...
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Situation Normal
inspired by Mistakes Were Made. Words for things going wrong in a manner particularly violent, stupid, soul-crushing, boggling, grandiose, or any combination of these qualities.
fuckup, snafu, fiasco, abortion, miscarriage, implosion, contretemps, imbroglio, brouhaha, melee, kerfuffle, mayhem and 156 more...
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Sounds
Shhh! Listen! Did you hear that?
tintinnabulous, susurration, ululation, pandemonium, keening, tinkle, clang, caterwaul, twangle, twank, din, rumble and 34 more...
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Nonsense
Synonyms of "nonsense"
tomfoolery, balderdash, poppycock, lalapalooza, hullabaloo, hodgepodge, gibberish, shenanigans, hootenanny, jabberwocky, gobbledygook, mummery and 21 more...
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bestiary
agave, incunable, echt, wissenschaft, friscalating, obsolescence, clavier, yajna, ecstatic, casual, protean, hum and 41 more...
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Words For Novel
viridity, effigy, paragon, congested, acrid, lilting, clandestine, plethora, accolade, sardonic, naïve, reckoning and 285 more...
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ash vocab
flippant, fillip, expiate, explicate, extirpate, facile, florid, fealty, allegiance, fetid, febrile, pert and 134 more...
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What Do You Mean ?
U Gotta Know These.......
falter, ruddy, flounder, pallid, fumble, founder, labile, titular, tacit, pragmatic, fatalism, jaded and 112 more...
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thekatespanos's list
pomposity, gaggle, scintilla, lemming, bilk, vanquish, conflate, plenary, verisimilitude, perspicacious, rattletrap, obdurate and 325 more...
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Wordplay
reticent, slammerkin, moonstruck, zephyr, gallivant, hullabaloo, pandemonium, equestrian, wallflower, martyr, threadbare, treacherous and 180 more...
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collection
sanguine, vie, antebellum, glacial, treacly, iconoclast, lissom, anathema, serendipity, parsimonious, histrionic, contemptuous and 279 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for pandemonium.
jmjarmstrong JM has observed an overcrowded panda habitat that was pandemonium. May 25, 2011
darqueau "the high Capitol of Satan and his peers" Paradise Lost Jul 14, 2008
brtom "She is a hoary pandemonium of ills, enlarged glands, mumps, quinsy, bunions, hayfever, bedsores, ringworm, floating kidney, Derbyshire neck, warts, bilious attacks, gallstones, cold feet, varicose veins."
Joyce, Ulysses, 14 Jan 27, 2007