chaotic

[ key-ot-ik ]

adjective

1. completely confused or disordered:

   a chaotic mass of books and papers.

   Antonyms: systematic, orderly

Other Words From

• cha·oti·cal·ly adverb
• noncha·otic adjective
• noncha·oti·cal·ly adverb
• semi·cha·otic adjective
• semi·cha·oti·cal·ly adverb
• uncha·otic adjective
• uncha·oti·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of chaotic¹

First recorded in 1705–15; chao(s) + -tic

Example Sentences

In the just-ended campaign, Trump also hammered the outgoing administration — first President Biden, and then Vice President Kamala Harris when she took up the fight after Biden dropped out — over the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2022 after the Taliban takeover, insisting that those who oversaw the pullout should have been fired.

From Los Angeles Times

More than 2,000 flights were cancelled on 28 and 29 August, causing "chaotic conditions" at overcrowded airports, the CAA reported.

From BBC

If humankind’s uncharted venture into the hottest and most unpredictably chaotic environment in history was to be marked by a new era of global migration, how would never-ending pressure on the U.S. border weigh on the politics and divisions of this country?

From Salon

The environment around England's last camp - when they lost to Greece at Wembley before beating Finland in Helsinki - was chaotic and unsatisfactory, with mixed messaging from Carsley when he appeared to question his own credentials for the job, then insisted he was not ruling himself out of the running only for the FA to reveal at Tuchel's Wembley unveiling that he had signed on the dotted line two days before the debacle against the side they face in Athens on Wednesday.

From BBC

This final England camp under interim manager Lee Carsley before new coach Thomas Tuchel takes charge on 1 January has been chaotic even before a ball is kicked here in Athens, with eight players withdrawing from the original 26-man squad.

From BBC

Related Words

• anarchic
• disorganized
• helter-skelter
• lawless
• tumultuous
• turbulent