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Synonyms

commotion

American  
[kuh-moh-shuhn] / kəˈmoʊ ʃən /

noun

  1. violent or tumultuous motion; agitation; noisy disturbance.

    What's all the commotion in the hallway?
    Synonyms:
    bustle, turbulence, riot, tumult, turmoil, disorder

  2. political or social disturbance or upheaval; sedition; insurrection.

commotion British  
/ kəˈməʊʃən /

noun

  1. violent disturbance; upheaval

  2. political insurrection; disorder

  3. a confused noise; din

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
commotion Idioms  

  1. see cause a commotion.

Related Words

See ado.

Other Word Forms

  • commotional adjective
  • commotive adjective

Etymology

Origin of commotion

First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin commōtiōn-, stem of commōtiō, from commōt(us) “disturbed” (past participle of commovēre “to displace, disturb,” literally, “to move together”; commove ) + -iō -ion

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.