1
as in hell
a state in which everything is out of order
computer network problems created havoc throughout the office
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in devastation
the state or fact of being rendered nonexistent, physically unsound, or useless
the powerful hurricane wreaked havoc all along the coast
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to ravage
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of havoc
Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes.com, 12 May 2025
Metro services and trains across both countries were also halted, as well as traffic systems, causing havoc in multiple cities.
—Callum Sutherland, Time, 29 Apr. 2025
PC Magazine, 22 May 2025
Plankton: The Movie arrives exclusively on Netflix in 2025.
06 of 06
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants (2025)
Next year SpongeBob returns to theaters with his fourth film, The Search for SquarePants, as Plankton wrecks havoc on Netflix.
—Rendy Jones, EW.com, 2 Aug. 2024
See All Example Sentences for havoc
Noun
Farr’s living in the Los Angeles area has also brought her close-up views of the havoc that wildfires can wreak.
—Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes.com, 12 May 2025
Metro services and trains across both countries were also halted, as well as traffic systems, causing havoc in multiple cities.
—Callum Sutherland, Time, 29 Apr. 2025
Verb
Even after hours of fast traveling, horseback riding, and slowly jogging from point A to point B, there were more quests to find, gear to loot, and havoc to wreak.
—PC Magazine, 22 May 2025
Plankton: The Movie arrives exclusively on Netflix in 2025.
06 of 06
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants (2025)
Next year SpongeBob returns to theaters with his fourth film, The Search for SquarePants, as Plankton wrecks havoc on Netflix.
—Rendy Jones, EW.com, 2 Aug. 2024
See All Example Sentences for havoc
Recent Examples of Synonyms for havoc
Noun
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But even the flames of hell can’t keep Southerners away from our beloved summer desserts.—
Josh Miller,
Southern Living,
1 June 2025
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Minnesota’s high-pressure defense made Oklahoma City’s life hell in the Wolves’ dominant win Saturday.—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
25 May 2025
Verb
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Fraser delivers a brimstone sermon worthy of a Baptist preacher at a tent revival, raging at plutocrats who ravage those with less (or nothing at all).—
Hamilton Cain,
Los Angeles Times,
5 June 2025
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Injuries have ravaged Houston’s starting rotation to an almost unrecognizable state.—
Chandler Rome,
New York Times,
31 May 2025
Noun
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The suspect, whose identity has not been disclosed due to his age, allegedly planned to detonate a chlorine bomb to create chaos and panic before shooting fleeing patrons exiting a movie theater, the FBI Portland Field Office said in a statement on Thursday.—
Rebekah Riess,
CNN Money,
6 June 2025
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Ultimately, chaos seems to be the only certainty should Abbas shuffle off his mortal coil.—
Sean Durns,
The Washington Examiner,
6 June 2025
Noun
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What makes that even scarier is that Florida’s road record — an .800 win percentage matched by only 17 other teams in the modern era — actually undersells the destruction.—
The Athletic NHL Staff,
New York Times,
31 May 2025
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The book also examines the growing movement to grant legal rights to rivers as a way to prevent their destruction by corporations and governments, which are themselves protected by a vast array of legal rights.—
Erik Pedersen,
Oc Register,
30 May 2025
Verb
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After France fell to Germany, the Nazis requisitioned the museum as a sorting facility for art plundered from French Jewish dealers and citizens disenfranchised by the state.—
Nina Siegal,
New York Times,
17 May 2025
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Some Quebecois housed troops or joined pro-patriot militias; others joined the British in firing muskets and artillery at the men invading their homeland and plundering their homesteads.—
Eli Wizevich,
Smithsonian Magazine,
12 May 2025
Noun
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The teaser at the end of this week’s hour-long episode promises bonafide flagship mess: Obnoxious guests, police coming onboard, deckhand Kyle apparently hooking up with a guest.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
3 June 2025
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According to Tide’s fabric care scientist, Kim Romine, more concentrated liquid detergents won’t freeze all the way through, leaving you with a slippery mess.—
Lauren Thomann,
Better Homes & Gardens,
1 June 2025
Noun
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Still grieving the loss of his parents, Elio has trouble fitting in socially with the other kids on the Air Force base, while his aunt has difficulty coping with her new role as an adoptive parent.—
Bill Desowitz,
IndieWire,
27 May 2025
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One of the key themes of Part II is the fact that everyone is only seeing things from their perspective; all these characters who are suffering loss and passing that suffering on to others are doing so in ignorance.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
27 May 2025
Verb
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Fifty priceless artifacts looted from Egypt and Pakistan — and trafficked through Manhattan by two notorious antiquities dealers — have been returned to their home countries, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has announced.—
Roni Jacobson,
New York Daily News,
2 June 2025
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Paris police chief Laurent Nunez told reporters that four stores were looted overnight.—
Jasmine Laws,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Havoc.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/havoc. Accessed 11 Jun. 2025.
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