Bedlam Definition

bĕdləm
noun
A place or situation of noisy uproar and confusion.
American Heritage
An old insane asylum (in full, St. Mary of Bethlehem), later a hospital for the mentally ill, in London.
Webster's New World
An insane asylum.
American Heritage
Any insane asylum.
Webster's New World
Any place or condition of noise and confusion.
Webster's New World
Synonyms:
Antonyms:

Other Word Forms of Bedlam

Noun

Singular:
bedlam
Plural:
bedlams

Origin of Bedlam

  • From Bedlam, alternative name of the English lunatic asylum, Bethlem Royal Hospital (royal hospital from 1375, mental hospital from 1403) (earlier St Mary of Bethlehem outside Bishopsgate, hospice in existence from 1329, priory established 1247), sense used to mean “a place or situation of madness and chaos”. Bedlam as name of hospital attested 1450.

    From Wiktionary

  • Phonologically, corruption of Bethlem, itself a corruption of Bethlehem (“a biblical town”), from the Ancient Greek Βηθλεέμ (Bēthleem) from the Hebrew בּית לחם (bet léchem).

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English Bedlem Hospital of Saint Mary of Bethlehem , an institution in London for the mentally ill

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

Bedlam Sentence Examples

  • I can't even picture the bedlam making this public would cause.

  • Within a few minutes, it was sheer bedlam.

  • They'd haul you away from me, put you up in some sort of Bedlam, he snapped.

  • A duet of serial killers create bedlam in movie town.

  • It was the Korean war where alleged American use of germ weapons caused international bedlam.

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Words Starting With

BBEBED

Words Ending With

MAMLAM

Unscrambles

bedlam

Words Starting With B and Ending With M

Starts With B & Ends With MStarts With BE & Ends With MStarts With B & Ends With AM

Word Length

6 Letter Words6 Letter Words Starting With B6 Letter Words Ending With M