commotion
/kəˈməʊʃ(ə)n
/noun
1A state of confused and noisy disturbance: she was distracted by a commotion across the street [mass noun]: they set off firecrackers to make a lot of commotion...
- I heard some noise and his excited voice and a whole lot of other commotions.
- His arms around his head, he shut his eyes, blocking out all the commotions that came from outside his room and making his mind completely blank, devoid of any obvious emotions.
- Alerted by the commotion the burglar was disturbed and chased by pub regulars but he got away.
Synonyms
disturbance, racket, uproar, tumult, ruckus, clamour, brouhaha, furore, hue and cry, palaver, fuss, stir, to-do, storm, maelstrom, melee;
turmoil, disorder, confusion, chaos, mayhem, havoc, pandemonium, upheaval, unrest, fracas, riot, breach of the peace, disruption, agitation, excitement, hurly-burly, hubbub, disquiet, ferment, bother, folderol, bustle, hustle and bustle;
Irish, North American, & Australian donnybrook;
Indian tamasha;
West Indian bangarang
informal song and dance, pantomime, production, rumpus, ruction, ructions, ballyhoo, hoo-ha, hullabaloo, aggro, argy-bargy
British informal carry-on, kerfuffle, row, stink, splash, hoopla
North American informal foofaraw
New Zealand informal bobsy-die
Law, dated affray
archaic broil
1.1 [mass noun] Civil insurrection: damage caused by civil commotion...
- The winter that was to provide respite from the summer's commotion only proved to be worse.
- Aaron held him down though, preventing any commotion that would endanger our lives as well as the captains.
- The climax of these commotions came during the fourth week of September, when the parliament returned in triumph from its exile.
Origin
Late Middle English: from Latin commotio(n-), from com- 'altogether' + motio (see motion).