Havoc Definition
hăvək
havocked, havocking, havocs
noun
havocs
Great destruction and devastation, as that resulting from hurricanes, wars, etc.
Webster's New World
Disorder or chaos.
A wild party that created havoc in the house.
American Heritage
Wiktionary
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
verb
To lay waste; devastate.
Webster's New World
To destroy or pillage.
American Heritage
To pillage.
Wiktionary
To cause havoc.
Wiktionary
Advertisement
interjection
A cry in war as the signal for indiscriminate slaughter.
Wiktionary
idiom
cry havoc
- to give (an army) the signal for pillaging
- to warn of great, impending danger
Webster's New World
play havoc with
- to devastate; destroy; ruin
Webster's New World
Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Havoc
- cry havoc
- play havoc with
Origin of Havoc
-
From Anglo-Norman havok in the phrase crier havok (“cry havoc”) a signal to soldiers to seize plunder, from Old French crier (“cry out, shout”) + havot (“pillaging, looting”).
From Wiktionary
Middle English havok from Anglo-Norman (crier) havok (to cry) havoc variant of Old French havot plundering of Germanic origin
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
Related Articles
Advertisement
Find Similar Words
Find similar words to havoc using the buttons below.