her mind was awhirl, thoughts and fears, present and past, jostling for prominence
awhirl in American English
(əˈhwɜːrl, əˈwɜːrl)
adjective
(usually used predicatively)
rotating rapidly; spinning; whirling
dancers awhirl to the strains of a lively waltz
Word origin
[1880–85; a-1 + whirl]This word is first recorded in the period 1880–85. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: Chief of Staff, highball, impressionism, interface, pari-mutuela- is a reduced form of the Old English preposition on, meaning “on,” “in,” “into,” “to,” “toward,” preserved before a noun in a prepositionalphrase, forming a predicate adjective or an adverbial element (afoot; abed; ashore; aside; away), or before an adjective (afar; aloud; alow), as a moribund prefix with a verb (acknowledge), and in archaic and dialectal use before a present participle in -ing (set the bells aringing); and added to a verb stem with the force of a present participle (ablaze; agape; aglow; astride; and originally, awry)