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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in chaotic
lacking in order, neatness, and often cleanliness
pell-mell piles of books everywhere in the professor's library
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in frantically
in a confused and reckless manner
tossed stuff pell-mell into the dorm room
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in hastily
with excessive or careless speed
ran pell-mell down the road to get help
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
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
Its unreformed economy is in secular decline, while its pell-mell effort to modernize its armed forces and take strategic initiative has revived NATO, terrified Russia’s formerly pro-Russian neighbors, and put off much of the world.
—Alexander J. Motyl, Foreign Affairs, 25 Sep. 2016
Administration officials don’t see this situation as similar to October 2022, when the intelligence community saw a significant possibility Putin might use tactical nuclear weapons to avert a collapse of Russia’s front lines in Ukraine and prevent a pell-mell retreat.
—David Ignatius, Washington Post, 21 June 2024
Ultimately, the more naturalistic second half — which has a realistic set with chairs and tables, delivered in a clunky black-out transition by intrusive stagehands — gets as sharp and loud as the pell-mell sounds-and-lights first half.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 12 Apr. 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
Ministry is not nearly as proficient as Chad Stahelski’s John Wick 4 or Matthias Schweighöfer’s Army of Thieves, but the pell-mell combat scenes are consistently cartoonish.
—Armond White, National Review, 19 Apr. 2024
America saw a pell-mell downsizing of gas-guzzling vehicles and a simultaneous ramping up of imports of fuel-efficient Japanese cars.
—Jim Krane, Fortune, 12 Oct. 2023
Adverb
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
Its unreformed economy is in secular decline, while its pell-mell effort to modernize its armed forces and take strategic initiative has revived NATO, terrified Russia’s formerly pro-Russian neighbors, and put off much of the world.
—Alexander J. Motyl, Foreign Affairs, 25 Sep. 2016
Administration officials don’t see this situation as similar to October 2022, when the intelligence community saw a significant possibility Putin might use tactical nuclear weapons to avert a collapse of Russia’s front lines in Ukraine and prevent a pell-mell retreat.
—David Ignatius, Washington Post, 21 June 2024
Ultimately, the more naturalistic second half — which has a realistic set with chairs and tables, delivered in a clunky black-out transition by intrusive stagehands — gets as sharp and loud as the pell-mell sounds-and-lights first half.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 12 Apr. 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
Ministry is not nearly as proficient as Chad Stahelski’s John Wick 4 or Matthias Schweighöfer’s Army of Thieves, but the pell-mell combat scenes are consistently cartoonish.
—Armond White, National Review, 19 Apr. 2024
America saw a pell-mell downsizing of gas-guzzling vehicles and a simultaneous ramping up of imports of fuel-efficient Japanese cars.
—Jim Krane, Fortune, 12 Oct. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pell-mell
Adjective
-
Photography by Christopher Lee Every morning taquerias throughout San Antonio fill with construction workers, nurses in scrubs, college students, and hurried families, all finding salvation in an iconic staple: the breakfast taco.—
Edmund Tijerina,
Bon Appétit,
27 Feb. 2025
-
Macron has taken a leading role in Europe's push to keep Trump from cutting a hurried deal to end the Ukraine war that legitimizes Vladimir Putin and rewards the Russian invasion.—
Francesca Chambers,
USA TODAY,
26 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
This fresh, modern reimagining of Ang Lee’s 1993 classic by Andrew Ahn follows a group of friends who need to get married for convenience—until family arrives, and the plan spirals into extravagant, chaotic mayhem.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
4 Mar. 2025
-
Moreover, the chaotic layoff of federal workers will likely lead to a rise in unemployment and tightening of spending by those losing their jobs.—
Mayra Rodriguez Valladares,
Forbes,
4 Mar. 2025
Adverb
-
Especially not when Trump and Elon Musk are working frantically to dismantle the federal government and undermine American democracy.—
Sammy Roth,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Feb. 2025
-
In another video of the incident, people were also seen frantically rushing away from the violence.—
Bonny Chu,
Fox News,
23 Feb. 2025
Adverb
-
Father-son spat The elder Kwek has alleged that his son and other members of the board breached corporate governance rules by hastily appointing two new directors outside of the typical nomination process.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune Asia,
3 Mar. 2025
-
The calls keep coming, and when Saxon – who proudly works with his dad – also starts getting calls, Tim decides to hastily reverse course and give White Lotus staffer Pam (Morgana O’Reilly) all the family’s phones and computers for a true digital detox.—
Dan Heching,
CNN,
3 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
In recent weeks, there has been a lot of uncertainty about which star could win the women’s Elimination Chamber, but even with some messy booking muddying the women’s division, one outcome in Toronto makes the most sense.—
Blake Oestriecher,
Forbes,
1 Mar. 2025
-
Isla delivers much of this information in the pilot via a sunny voiceover, punctuated by freeze-frame introductions of characters featuring their name and job title scrawled on the screen in meticulously messy yellow text.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
27 Feb. 2025
Adverb
-
Dara Horn; illustrated by Theo Ellsworth Norton Books for Young Readers; ages 8 and up In this wildly imagined, time-travel graphic novel, a family’s seder drags on for six long months, a plight recalled by the teenage son, the story’s protagonist.—
Penny Schwartz,
Sun Sentinel,
6 Mar. 2025
-
The latest iteration of the solar squabble has been fueled by California’s wildly escalating electricity prices.—
Sammy Roth,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The nuclear dilemma makes Tehran’s position all the more fraught, by likely forcing it into a headlong confrontation with the Trump White House.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
25 Feb. 2025
-
This headlong, hyper-nuanced account of a teenage girl’s first love fuses the interiority of novels and the sensuous embrace of cinema in ways that other films fumble.—
Nicolas Rapold,
Deadline,
22 Feb. 2025
Adverb
-
All of it wild-caught.—
Amy Drew Thompson,
orlandosentinel.com,
14 Aug. 2020
-
Our first stop is in a wild-looking stretch 200 yards south of the railroad tracks and State Street.—
Paul A. Smith,
Journal Sentinel,
2 Jan. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Pell-mell.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pell-mell. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share