Chaos CHAOS, n.
1. That confusion, or confused mass, in which matter is supposed to have existed, before it was separated into its different kinds and reduced to order, by the creating power of God. Rudis, indigestaque moles.
2. Any mixed mass, without due form or order; as a chaos of materials.
3. Confusion; disorder; a state in which the parts are undistinguished.

chaos n 1: a state of extreme confusion and disorder [syn: chaos, pandemonium, bedlam, topsy-turvydom, topsy- turvyness}] 2: the formless and disordered state of matter before the creation of the cosmos 3: (Greek mythology) the most ancient of gods; the personification of the infinity of space preceding creation of the universe 4: (physics) a dynamical system that is extremely sensitive to its initial conditions

chaos c.1440, "gaping void," from L. chaos, from Gk. khaos "abyss, that which gapes wide open, is vast and empty," from *khnwos, from PIE base *gheu-, *gh(e)i- "to gape" (cf. Gk khaino "I yawn," O.E. ginian, O.N. ginnunga-gap; see yawn). Meaning "utter confusion" (1606) is extended from theological use of chaos for "the void at the beginning of creation" in Vulgate version of Genesis. The Gk. for "disorder" was tarakhe, however the use of chaos here was rooted in Hesiod ("Theogony"), who describes khaos as the primeval emptiness of the Universe, begetter of Erebus and Nyx ("Night"), and in Ovid ("Metamorphoses"), who opposes Khaos to Kosmos, "the ordered Universe." Chaotic is from 1713.

chaos noun Etymology: Latin, from Greek — more at gum Date: 15th century 1. obsolete chasm, abyss 2. a. often capitalized a state of things in which chance is supreme; especially the confused unorganized state of primordial matter before the creation of distinct forms — compare cosmos b. the inherent unpredictability in the behavior of a complex natural system (as the atmosphere, boiling water, or the beating heart) 3. a. a state of utter confusion <the blackout caused chaos throughout the city> b. a confused mass or mixture <a chaos of television antennas> • chaotic adjective • chaotically adverb

chaos
n.
1 utter confusion.
2 the formless matter supposed to have existed before the creation of the universe.
Derivatives:
chaotic adj. chaotically adv.
Etymology: F or L f. Gk khaos: - otic after erotic etc.

chaos Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. Chaos is a state of complete disorder and confusion. The world's first transatlantic balloon race ended in chaos last night... N-UNCOUNT

chaos ˈkeɪɔs n. 1 utter confusion. 2 the formless matter supposed to have existed before the creation of the universe. øøchaotic adj. chaotically adv. [F or L f. Gk khaos: - otic after erotic etc.]

Chaos a name in the ancient cosmogomy for the formless void out of which everything at first sprang into existence, or the wide-spread confusion that prevailed before it shaped itself into order under the breath of the spirit of life.

Chaos For he being dead, with him is beauty slain, And, beauty dead, black chaos comes again. SHAKESPEARE: Venus and A., Line 1019. Chaos of thought and passion, all confused; Still by himself abused or disabused. POPE: Essay on Man, Epis. ii., Line 13.

Chaos \Cha"os\ (k[=a]"[o^]s), n. [L. chaos chaos (in senses 1 & 2), Gr. cha`os, fr. cha`inein (root cha) to yawn, to gape, to open widely. Cf. Chasm.] 1. An empty, immeasurable space; a yawning chasm. [Archaic] Between us and there is fixed a great chaos. --Luke xvi. 26 (Rhemish Trans.). 2. The confused, unorganized condition or mass of matter before the creation of distinct and orderly forms. 3. Any confused or disordered collection or state of things; a confused mixture; confusion; disorder.

chaos n. 1. Primeval matter, primordial confusion. 2. Disorder, confusion.

chaos ˈkeɪɔs n. formlessness, disorder, confusion; pandemonium, bedlam, turmoil, tumult; entropy: The universe arose out of chaos. If you want to see chaos, look in any teenager's bedroom. There was chaos as the bank closed its doors and ceased trading.

161 Moby Thesaurus words for "chaos": agitation, aloofness, amorphia, amorphism, amorphousness, anarchism, anarcho-syndicalism, anarchy, antinomianism, astronomical unit, bedlam, befuddlement, bewilderment, blurriness, bluster, bother, botheration, brawl, broil, brouhaha, cacophony, celestial spaces, cloud, commotion, confusion, cosmic space, criminal syndicalism, daze, diffusion, discombobulation, discomfiture, discomposure, disconcertion, discontinuity, discreteness, disjunction, dislocation, disorder, disorderliness, disorganization, disorientation, dispersal, dispersion, disruption, dissolution, disturbance, ebullition, embarrassment, embroilment, empty space, entropy, ether space, fabulous formless darkness, fanaticism, ferment, flap, flummox, flurry, fluster, flutter, fog, fomentation, foofaraw, formlessness, foul-up, frenzy, fuddle, fuddlement, fume, furor, furore, fury, fuss, fuzziness, hassle, haze, haziness, hubbub, incoherence, inconsistency, indecisiveness, indefiniteness, indeterminateness, interstellar space, jumble, lawlessness, license, light-year, lynch law, maze, mess, messiness, metagalactic space, misrule, mist, mistiness, mix-up, mob law, mob rule, mobocracy, morass, muddle, muddlement, nihilism, nonadhesion, noncohesion, obscurity, ocean of emptiness, ochlocracy, orderlessness, outer space, pandemonium, parsec, passion, perplexity, perturbation, pother, pressureless space, primal chaos, pucker, racket, rage, rebellion, revolution, row, ruckus, ruffle, rumpus, scattering, screw-up, separateness, shapelessness, shuffle, snafu, space, stew, storminess, sweat, swivet, syndicalism, tempestuousness, the void, the void above, tizzy, tohubohu, tumult, tumultuousness, turbulence, turmoil, unadherence, unadhesiveness, unclearness, unruliness, unsettlement, untenacity, uproar, upset, vagueness, wildness, zeal, zealousness

look up a word or phrase