commotion means A state of turbulent motion.
commotion is pronounced /kəˈməʊ.ʃən/.
Why “commotion” is a great word
A state of noisy confusion, disturbance, or agitation. From Middle French commocion, from Latin commōtiōnem (accusative of commōtiō), from commovēre ("to disturb, agitate") + -tiō (suffix forming nouns of action). Unlike a kerfuffle, which suggests a trivial or humorous fuss, or a tumult, which implies a violent, large-scale public uproar, commotion is the kinetic middle ground: the clatter of a dropped tray in a silent restaurant, the sudden, flapping panic of startled pigeons in a square, or the urgent, overlapping voices that rise after a smoke alarm sounds—a brief, democratic violence against the peace, soon absorbed back into the ordinary.
Etymology
From Middle French commocion, from Latin commōtiōnem, accusative singular of commōtiō, from commoveō + -tiō.
noun
- A state of turbulent motion.
- An agitated disturbance or a hubbub.e.g.“It would seem as if calm were necessary to convulsion; for the tranquillity of the last few months was again to be disturbed by political commotion.” — 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, pages 97–98:
- Sexual excitement.e.g.“and now, glancing my eyes towards that part of his dress which cover'd the essential object of enjoyment, I plainly discover'd the swell and commotion there” — 1749, [John Cleland], “(Please specify the letter or volume)”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], London: […] [Thomas Parker] for G. Fenton [i.e., Fenton and Ralph Griffiths] […], →OCLC:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.