as in vortex
water moving rapidly in a circle with a hollow in the center
our rubber raft got caught in a maelstrom in a particularly rough stretch of white water
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Recent Examples of maelstrom
Just 10 days into her tenure, new Police Commissioner Jessie Tisch found herself at the center of a maelstrom after a gunman shot dead a health care CEO on a Manhattan sidewalk.
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New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 21 Dec. 2024
Take a moment to reflect on the maelstrom one small toddler can inflict upon a home.
—Longreads, 19 Dec. 2024
The result is a maelstrom of loops crashing into one another, lyrics shattered and left as shards, and of clutter: sonic, mental, and physical.
—Pitchfork, 5 Dec. 2024
Then there are the white-knuckle car rides through the Pacific Northwest as an unstoppable cosmic maelstrom rips through its pristine wilderness.
—Lewis Gordon, Vulture, 5 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for maelstrom 
New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 21 Dec. 2024
Take a moment to reflect on the maelstrom one small toddler can inflict upon a home.
—Longreads, 19 Dec. 2024
The result is a maelstrom of loops crashing into one another, lyrics shattered and left as shards, and of clutter: sonic, mental, and physical.
—Pitchfork, 5 Dec. 2024
Then there are the white-knuckle car rides through the Pacific Northwest as an unstoppable cosmic maelstrom rips through its pristine wilderness.
—Lewis Gordon, Vulture, 5 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for maelstrom
Thesaurus Entries Near maelstrom
Cite this Entry
“Maelstrom.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/maelstrom. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.
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