turmoil

confusion, uncertainty

TRANSLATION

turmoil = der Aufruhr, der Tumult, das Chaos, der Umbruch --- GOOGLE INDEX turmoil: approximately 8,000,000 Google hits

STATISTICS

IN THE PRESS

Political TURMOIL again in Ukraine

(BBC News headline)

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The best thinking has been done in solitude. The worst has been done in TURMOIL.

(Thomas A. Edison, inventor)

Did you
know?

turmoil
noun

- a state of great disturbance, confusion, or uncertainty

(Oxford Dictionary)

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Turmoil has existed since time immemorial, but the word is "only" around 500 years old. It's thought to stem from the Middle French "tremouille," or mill hopper, a vessel that holds stone for grinding grain. Tremouille is in turn from the Latin trimodia, a vessel containing three modii, which was a dry measure in Roman times.

Mill hoppers are pretty chaotic as they literally shake, rattle and roll the stones in order to grind the grain. This is likely where turmoil acquired the sense of a disturbance or confusion. Modern, industrial-scale grain mills of course rely on huge steel rollers.

Although they create less turmoil than conventional grinders, some experts meanwhile believe that modern flour production methods eliminate essential nutrients from the wheat. For those interested in creating your own turmoil at home, so-called counter-top mill hoppers or grinders are commercially available.

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SYNONYMS

agitation, commotion, confusion, convulsion, disruption, disturbance, hubbub, hullabaloo, pandemonium, strife, tumult, upheaval

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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation

"After the pilots went on strike, there was turmoil at the airport."

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