pell-mell 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of pell-mellnext
1
as in hurried
acting or done with excessive or careless speed when the theater doors opened, there was a pell-mell rush for the best seats

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in messy
lacking in order, neatness, and often cleanliness pell-mell piles of books everywhere in the professor's library

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pell-mell

2 of 2

adverb

ˌpel-ˈmel How to pronounce pell-mell (audio)
1
as in frantically
in a confused and reckless manner tossed stuff pell-mell into the dorm room

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in hastily
with excessive or careless speed ran pell-mell down the road to get help

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of pell-mell
Adverb
The sight of Musk swinging a chainsaw onstage at a conservative conference captured the pell-mell approach, not to mention the brutality, of the billionaire’s plan to bring the federal government to heel. — Andy Kroll, ProPublica, 18 Oct. 2025 People ran pell-mell outside, sped away in cars with no clear destination, went to church, or just phoned the police or radio station to hyperventilate. — Nicolas Rapold, airmail.news, 23 Nov. 2024 Abe and Mary are part Rhett Butler and Scarlett O’Hara, part George and Martha, part the old vaudevillians George Burns and Gracie Allen, all running together pell-mell toward the Copacabana. — Chris Jones, New York Daily News, 12 July 2024 Only a few of them stopped with remainder racing pell-mell through the intersection as approaching cars on Charles braked abruptly. — Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 25 Apr. 2024 See All Example Sentences for pell-mell
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pell-mell
  1. hurried
  2. messy
  3. frantically
  4. hastily
  5. rushed
  6. chaotic
  7. wildly
  8. hurriedly
Adjective
  • Homemade enchiladas might sound like a laborious weekend project, but with a few clever tricks, this version made with black beans and pumpkin can be whipped up on even the most hurried of work nights.
    — Jesse Szewczyk, Bon Appetit Magazine, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Dooley emphasized the preliminary nature of the ruling and the hurried nature of the litigation preceding it in a short, 12-page decision.
    — Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of hurried
Adjective
  • In art, as in life, the messy materiality of flesh fazes me not one whit.
    — Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 17 Oct. 2026
  • View gallery - 4 images For all the extraordinary things that consumer 3D printers can produce, changing color has remained a surprisingly messy business.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of messy
Adverb
  • The trailer begins as Ziegler’s Mae frantically asks family friend Benny, played by a sleepy Rob Lowe, for help after her big mistake — kissing the wrong brother between Graham Phillips’ Andrew and Elias Kacavas’ Theo.
    — Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 15 Oct. 2026
  • This is a comeback story of the highest order because Taylor Moton's life was at risk, blood was splattered all over his chest, and doctors frantically rushed to keep him from dying from a life-threatening emergency.
    — Armando Salguero OutKick, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of frantically
Adverb
  • Did traffickers hastily ditch their extremely valuable cargo, maybe after being spooked by nearby patrols?
    — Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2026
  • The bug had never come up in testing, and the FIA had to hastily write and then distribute to the teams a software update to solve the problem.
    — Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of hastily
Adjective
  • Critics, including Commissioners Christine King and Damian Pardo, call it a rushed effort that could be paid for with existing tax dollars without asking voters for more.
    — Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The teen’s family has said this was a rushed judgment that did not involve a thorough enough investigation.
    — Sam Gillette, PEOPLE, 27 July 2026
Definition of rushed
Adjective
  • Week 7 of the 2026 college football season will go down as one of the most chaotic ever, with five Top 10 teams suffering losses, and the newest AP Top 25 Poll reflects the craziness that unfolded.
    — Mark Harris OutKick, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2026
  • While the weather painted a chaotic picture, stories from Malibu residents were of neighbors coming together as a community in a way only the specter of disaster could prompt.
    — Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of chaotic
Adverb
  • It's regarded as wildly unethical and cruel, so the rationale for Netflix turning it into a TV show, where 30 people enter a real prison for two weeks, is hard to justify.
    — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Because this animal was thrashing wildly, Packard could sense he’d been picked up in error.
    — David Mack, CNN Money, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of wildly
Adverb
  • Her husband hurriedly shut the door and begged her to see a doctor for a tranquilizer prescription.
    — Elvira Navarro, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Antonelli hurriedly informed his race engineer, Peter Bonnington, who had been regularly reminding the Italian to adhere to track limits throughout the race and to look after his car.
    — Luke Smith, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of hurriedly

Browse Nearby Words

pellets
pell-mell
pellucid
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Cite this Entry

“Pell-mell.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pell-mell. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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