maelstrom
noun /ˈmeɪlstrɒm/
/ˈmeɪlstrəm/
[usually singular]- (literary) a situation full of strong emotions or confusing events, that is hard to control and makes you feel frightened
- a maelstrom of conflicting emotions
- They were being sucked into the maelstrom of war.
- a very strong current of water that moves in circles synonym whirlpool
Word Originlate 17th cent.: from early modern Dutch (denoting a mythical whirlpool in the Arctic Ocean, west of Norway), from maalen ‘grind, whirl’ + stroom ‘stream’.