as in circus
a place of uproar or confusion
the house has been a three-ring circus ever since the kids got back from summer camp
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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 three-ring circus
Democrats, who slammed the impeachment inquiry as a political stunt, described the Republican conference as a three-ring circus.
—
Marianna Sotomayor, Leigh Ann Caldwell, Amy B Wang, Jacqueline Alemany, The Washington Post, Anchorage Daily News, 15 Sep. 2023
Life gets serious enough, after all—as does Facebook, what with the constant political brawling, and let's not even get started on the total three-ring circus Twitter has turned into lately.
—Jill Gleeson, Country Living, 17 July 2023
Not to mention that Taylor’s productions are like three-ring circuses.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 30 June 2023
It's always been at once an alternative to politics as usual and an intensification of what politics as usual has been drifting toward for a long time now: a gaudy spectacle that's equal parts entertainment, fantasy, fraud, and three-ring circus performed before mutually exclusive cheering mobs.
—Damon Linker, TheWeek, 4 Dec. 2020
See all Example Sentences for three-ring circus 
Marianna Sotomayor, Leigh Ann Caldwell, Amy B Wang, Jacqueline Alemany, The Washington Post, Anchorage Daily News, 15 Sep. 2023
Life gets serious enough, after all—as does Facebook, what with the constant political brawling, and let's not even get started on the total three-ring circus Twitter has turned into lately.
—Jill Gleeson, Country Living, 17 July 2023
Not to mention that Taylor’s productions are like three-ring circuses.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 30 June 2023
It's always been at once an alternative to politics as usual and an intensification of what politics as usual has been drifting toward for a long time now: a gaudy spectacle that's equal parts entertainment, fantasy, fraud, and three-ring circus performed before mutually exclusive cheering mobs.
—Damon Linker, TheWeek, 4 Dec. 2020
See all Example Sentences for three-ring circus
Recent Examples of Synonyms for three-ring circus
Noun
-
One of the biggest has become Shaq’s Fun House, which rages from Friday night to 3 a.m. Saturday at Mardi Gras World, featuring carnival rides, circus acts and music by John Summit, Ludacris and Shaq himself in his D.J. Diesel persona.—
Greg Cote,
Miami Herald,
7 Feb. 2025
-
People have had it with this fake austerity circus.—
Chris Sommerfeldt,
New York Daily News,
5 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye Welcome to the madhouse.—
Vulture,
Vulture,
28 Feb. 2022
-
Life around the office, which included a basketball court and beer on tap, was a preview of the headquarters-as-madhouse ethos soon to dominate Silicon Valley.—
Alex Williams,
New York Times,
14 Oct. 2022
Noun
-
The hallway outside the Hollis apartment by now is complete bedlam: Drop the f—--g knife!—
Carol Marbin Miller,
Miami Herald,
8 Jan. 2025
-
The bedlam came during the third quarter of the game in Nanterre, France, which was part of the FIBA Basketball Champions League.—
Bradford Betz,
Fox News,
19 Dec. 2024
Articles Related to three-ring circus
Thesaurus Entries Near three-ring circus
Cite this Entry
“Three-ring circus.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/three-ring%20circus. Accessed 16 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share