1
as in hell
a state in which everything is out of order
computer network problems created havoc throughout the office
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in devastation
the state or fact of being rendered nonexistent, physically unsound, or useless
the powerful hurricane wreaked havoc all along the coast
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to ravage
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of havoc
Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 22 May 2025
Smoke follows a detective (Jurnee Smollett) and an arson investigator (Taron Egerton) who are trying to catch a pair of serial arsonists wreaking fiery havoc across the Pacific Northwest.
—Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 28 May 2025
PC Magazine, 22 May 2025
Plankton: The Movie arrives exclusively on Netflix in 2025.
06 of 06
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants (2025)
Next year SpongeBob returns to theaters with his fourth film, The Search for SquarePants, as Plankton wrecks havoc on Netflix.
—Rendy Jones, EW.com, 2 Aug. 2024
See All Example Sentences for havoc
Noun
Tubes 1 and 2 were inundated with salt water during Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and Amtrak has said the resulting corrosion of wires has played havoc with signaling and traction power in the tubes over the past decade.
—Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 22 May 2025
Smoke follows a detective (Jurnee Smollett) and an arson investigator (Taron Egerton) who are trying to catch a pair of serial arsonists wreaking fiery havoc across the Pacific Northwest.
—Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 28 May 2025
Verb
Even after hours of fast traveling, horseback riding, and slowly jogging from point A to point B, there were more quests to find, gear to loot, and havoc to wreak.
—PC Magazine, 22 May 2025
Plankton: The Movie arrives exclusively on Netflix in 2025.
06 of 06
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants (2025)
Next year SpongeBob returns to theaters with his fourth film, The Search for SquarePants, as Plankton wrecks havoc on Netflix.
—Rendy Jones, EW.com, 2 Aug. 2024
See All Example Sentences for havoc
Recent Examples of Synonyms for havoc
Noun
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But even the flames of hell can’t keep Southerners away from our beloved summer desserts.—
Josh Miller,
Southern Living,
1 June 2025
-
Minnesota’s high-pressure defense made Oklahoma City’s life hell in the Wolves’ dominant win Saturday.—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
25 May 2025
Verb
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Fraser delivers a brimstone sermon worthy of a Baptist preacher at a tent revival, raging at plutocrats who ravage those with less (or nothing at all).—
Hamilton Cain,
Los Angeles Times,
5 June 2025
-
Injuries have ravaged Houston’s starting rotation to an almost unrecognizable state.—
Chandler Rome,
New York Times,
31 May 2025
Noun
-
Ultimately, chaos seems to be the only certainty should Abbas shuffle off his mortal coil.—
Sean Durns,
The Washington Examiner,
6 June 2025
-
The suspect, whose identity has not been disclosed due to his age, allegedly planned to detonate a chlorine bomb to create chaos and panic before shooting fleeing patrons exiting a movie theater, the FBI Portland Field Office said in a statement on Thursday.—
Rebekah Riess,
CNN Money,
6 June 2025
Noun
-
Antibodies mark and bind to foreign substances (such as germs) for destruction, whereas cytokines serve as messengers, informing and signaling the immune system to launch an attack against germs.—
Jonathan Purtell,
Verywell Health,
13 June 2025
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The destruction of several strategic bombers is another reminder that Kyiv remains determined in its struggle against Moscow’s invasion.—
Editorial,
Boston Herald,
13 June 2025
Verb
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After France fell to Germany, the Nazis requisitioned the museum as a sorting facility for art plundered from French Jewish dealers and citizens disenfranchised by the state.—
Nina Siegal,
New York Times,
17 May 2025
-
Some Quebecois housed troops or joined pro-patriot militias; others joined the British in firing muskets and artillery at the men invading their homeland and plundering their homesteads.—
Eli Wizevich,
Smithsonian Magazine,
12 May 2025
Noun
-
But chances are, this habit can snowball and become a cluttered mess.—
Mary Cornetta,
Better Homes & Gardens,
13 June 2025
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The mess, not the message, is what many Americans absorbed.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
13 June 2025
Noun
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The lack of playing time this season for Reyes, in particular, may have burned the Yankees’ chances for possibly pulling out a win in a 10-7 loss against Boston on Saturday.—
Chris Kirschner,
New York Times,
8 June 2025
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Ryan Yarbrough had known nothing but success in the Yankees’ rotation, but that changed in a 10-7 loss to the Red Sox on Saturday night.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
8 June 2025
Verb
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In 2015, the death of Gray in police custody triggered a series of demonstrations that grew and intensified, culminating in unrest on the day of his funeral in which buildings and cars were torched, shopkeepers beaten, and stores and pharmacies looted.—
Jean Marbella,
Baltimore Sun,
14 June 2025
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Stores along Division Street were looted and set on fire.—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
12 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Havoc.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/havoc. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.
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