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turmoil

 - 3 dictionary results

tur⋅moil

  [tur-moil]
Use turmoil in a Sentence
–noun
1. a state of great commotion, confusion, or disturbance; tumult; agitation; disquiet: mental turmoil caused by difficult decisions.
2. Obsolete. harassing labor.
Origin:
1505–15; orig. as v.: to agitate; etym. uncert.; perh. tur(n) + moil

Synonyms:
1. turbulence, disorder, uproar. See agitation.

Antonyms:
1. order, quiet.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To turmoil
tur·moil   (tûr'moil')   
n.  A state of extreme confusion or agitation; commotion or tumult: a country in turmoil over labor strikes.

[Origin unknown.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

turmoil 
1526, perhaps an alteration of M.Fr. tremouille "mill hopper," in reference to the hopper's constant motion to and fro, from L. trimodia "vessel containing three modii," from modius, a Roman dry measure, related to modus "measure." Attested earlier in Eng. as a verb (c.1511), though this now is obsolete.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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