pandemonium en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
- /ˌpæn.dəˈmoʊ.ni.əm/ (General-American)
- (General-American) audio
- /ˌpæn.dɪˈməʊ.ni.əm/ (Received-Pronunciation)
Etymology
Coined by John Milton in Paradise Lost as Pandæmonium, from Ancient Greek πᾶν (pân, “all”) (equivalent to pan-) + Late Latin daemonium (“evil spirit, demon”), from Ancient Greek δαιμόνιον (daimónion, “deity”).
Meanings
-
(countable, uncountable) A loud, wild, tumultuous protest, disorder, or chaotic situation, usually of a crowd, often violent.
Whenever you have violent pandemonium, there's the overwhelming possibility for panic and tragedy.
2004 October 22, The Boston Globe:I shall go round to the office and complain. I'll tell you what it is, Mr. Belting: these mansions are becoming a pandemonium, sir, a veritable pandemonium.
1923, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], “(please specify the page)”, in The Eyes of Max Carrados, London: Grant Richards, →OCLC:Whatever all this pandemonium means, I suppose the police station will help us.
1908, G[ilbert] K[eith] Chesterton, The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare, Bristol: J[ames] W[illiams] Arrowsmith, […]; London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Company, →OCLC, page 259:
-
(countable, uncountable) An outburst; loud, riotous uproar, especially of a crowd.
Riyad Mahrez flighted the free-kick that followed to the far post and Morgan, with not much finesse but plenty of desire, bundled the ball over the line. Cue pandemonium in the stands.
2017 March 14, Stuart James, “Leicester stun Sevilla to reach last eight after Kasper Schmeichel save”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 05 Apr 2023:
-
(collective, countable, uncountable) A group of parrots
Seen a wild pandemonium of parrots lately? Report it immediately.
2024 March 22, DWeisman, “Tracking the wild parrots of San Diego County”, in The Escondido Grapevine:Clara laughed-"I know!"-and told her about the pandemoniums of parrots that live in the treetops above Los Angeles.
2021, Mary Fifield, Fire & Water: Stories from the Anthropocene, Black LAwrence Press:A pandemonium of parrots in a Pasadena tree.
2023 November 6, Jacob Margolis, “Who’s Capturing Parrots With Nets In Temple City?”, in LAist, archived from the original on 28 Jul 2026:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| pandemoniums | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| pandemonia | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| pandæmonium | alternative | lexicographic | |
| pandaemonium | alternative | lexicographic |
Coordinates
Deriveds
pandamonium · pandemonic · pandemonian · pandemonious · pandemonium effect · fandemonium · pandemonium architecture · pandemoniacal · pandemoniac
Descendants
pandemonium · pandemónio · pandemonium · pandemônio · pandemònium · pandemónium · pandemonium · pandemonium · πανδαιμόνιο · pandemoni · пандемониум · pandemonio · Pandämonium · pandémonium · pandemonio
Hypernyms
Relateds
all hell breaks loose · Pandæmonium
Synonyms
bedlam · outburst · chaos · uproar
Translations (47)
ro haos (an outburst; loud, riotous uproar) · de Anarchie (chaos; tumultuous protest or disorder) · gl pandemonio (chaos; tumultuous protest or disorder) · el της τρελής (chaos; tumultuous protest or disorder) · nl heksenketel (an outburst; loud, riotous uproar) · pt tumulto (an outburst; loud, riotous uproar) · fi sekasorto (chaos; tumultuous protest or disorder) · eo pandemonio (an outburst; loud, riotous uproar) · fr chaos (chaos; tumultuous protest or disorder) · pt balbúrdia (an outburst; loud, riotous uproar) · de Tohuwabohu (chaos; tumultuous protest or disorder) · bg хаос (chaos; tumultuous protest or disorder) · de Hexensabbat (chaos; tumultuous protest or disorder) · ro pandemoniu (chaos; tumultuous protest or disorder) · pt pandemónio (chaos; tumultuous protest or disorder) · tl kaguluhan (chaos; tumultuous protest or disorder) · ro haos (chaos; tumultuous protest or disorder) · pt pandemônio (chaos; tumultuous protest or disorder) · fr tohu-bohu (an outburst; loud, riotous uproar) · ceb kasibaw (chaos; tumultuous protest or disorder) · es pandemonio (chaos; tumultuous protest or disorder) · fr chaos (an outburst; loud, riotous uproar) · fr charivari (an outburst; loud, riotous uproar) · tl kaguluhan (an outburst; loud, riotous uproar) · de Hexensabbat (an outburst; loud, riotous uproar) · de Gewaltausbruch (an outburst; loud, riotous uproar) · pt confusão (an outburst; loud, riotous uproar) · el χαμός (chaos; tumultuous protest or disorder) · fi kaaos (chaos; tumultuous protest or disorder) · nl pandemonium (an outburst; loud, riotous uproar) · el πανδαιμόνιο (chaos; tumultuous protest or disorder) · eo pandemonio (chaos; tumultuous protest or disorder) · ceb kasibaw (an outburst; loud, riotous uproar) · ur شور (chaos; tumultuous protest or disorder) · nl pandemonium (chaos; tumultuous protest or disorder) · de Aufruhr (an outburst; loud, riotous uproar) · fi mekastus (an outburst; loud, riotous uproar) · de Tumult (chaos; tumultuous protest or disorder) · es pandemónium (chaos; tumultuous protest or disorder) · pl pandemonium (chaos; tumultuous protest or disorder) · fr tumulte (an outburst; loud, riotous uproar) · fr chahut (an outburst; loud, riotous uproar) · ur افراتفری (chaos; tumultuous protest or disorder) · pt caos (chaos; tumultuous protest or disorder) · is ringulreið (chaos; tumultuous protest or disorder) · nl heksenketel (chaos; tumultuous protest or disorder) · el πανδαιμόνιο (an outburst; loud, riotous uproar)