havoc means A cry in war as the signal for indiscriminate slaughter. It carries an Arena rating of 1789, earned across 12 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, havoc ranks #40 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #477 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #826 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #1,289 of 17,131 for Scariest Words.
havoc is pronounced /ˈhævək/.
Why “havoc” is a great word
Widespread devastation, destruction, or great disorder and confusion. From Middle English *havok*, *havyk*, from the Anglo-French phrase *crier havok* (a signal for soldiers to plunder), from Old French *havot* ("pillaging, looting"), of obscure origin; probably from a derivative of Old French *haf*, *hef* ("hook"), from Frankish *habbjā* ("pruning-hook, scythe"), from Proto-Germanic *habjaną* ("to take up, lift"). First attested in English in the early 15th century. Unlike "chaos," which is a state of formless disorder, or "mayhem," which suggests a specific, violent injury, *havoc* is the systematic, sweeping ruin that follows the cry. It is the sacked city with smoke rising from a hundred hearths, the storm-ravaged field where nothing stands upright, and the awful, silent vacancy left in the wake of pillage—not merely disorder, but order actively and thoroughly unmade.
Etymology
From Middle English havok, havyk, from Old French havok in the phrase crier havok (“cry havoc”) a signal to soldiers to seize plunder, from Old French crier (“cry out, shout”) + havot (“pillaging, looting”), of obscure origin. Probably from a derivative of Old French *haf, hef (“hook”), from Frankish *haf, *habbjā, *happjā (“pruning-hook, scythe”), derived from Proto-Germanic *habjaną (“to take up, lift”), related to Old French havee (“handful”), Old French havet (“pruning-hook”), Old High German habba, heppa (“pruning-hook, scythe”), modern German Hippe (“billhook”). If so, then also related to English heave and doublet of hatchet.
intj
- A cry in war as the signal for indiscriminate slaughter.e.g.“Do not cry havoc, where you should but hunt / With modest warrant.” — c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] B
noun
- Widespread devastation and destruction.
- Mayhem.
verb
- To pillage.e.g.“To tear and havoc more than she can eat.” — 1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount,
- To cause havoc.
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.
- ravage 67% match — To devastate, destroy or lay waste to something. vs havoc →
- mayhem 66% match — The criminal offence of maiming (“seriously wounding”) a person such that their ability to defend or protect themselves is weakened or completely removed; (countable) an instance of this. vs havoc →
- devastation 61% match — The act of devastating, or the state of being devastated; a laying waste. vs havoc →
- devastated 58% match — Ruined, ravaged. vs havoc →
- vastation 58% match — Devastation, laying waste. vs havoc →
- devastate 57% match — To ruin many or all things over a large area, such as most or all buildings of a city, or cities of a region, or trees of a forest. vs havoc →
- hership 57% match — Pillaging, devastation, plunder. vs havoc →
- devast 57% match — To devastate. vs havoc →