From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Commotion \Com*mo"tion\, noun [L. commotio: cf. F. commotion. See {Motion}.]
1. Disturbed or violent motion; agitation.
[What] commotion in the winds ! --Shak.
2. A popular tumult; public disturbance; riot.
When ye shall hear of wars and commotions. --Luke xxi. 9.
3. Agitation, perturbation, or disorder, of mind; heat; excitement. ''He could not debate anything without some commotion.'' --Clarendon.
Syn: Excitement; agitation; perturbation; disturbance; tumult; disorder; violence.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
noun
1: a disorderly outburst or tumult; "they were amazed by the furious disturbance they had caused" [syn: {disturbance}, {disruption}, {stir}, {flutter}, {hurly burly}, {to-do}, {hoo-ha}, {hoo-hah}, {kerfuffle}]
2: the act of making a noisy disturbance [syn: {din}, {ruction}, {ruckus}, {rumpus}, {tumult}]
3: confused movement; "he was caught up in a whirl of work"; "a commotion of people fought for the exits" [syn: {whirl}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
185 Moby Thesaurus words for "commotion": Bedlam let loose, ado, agitation, annoyance, bedlam, blast, bluster, bobbery, boil, boiling, bother, botheration, brawl, broil, brouhaha, burst, bustle, cacophony, chaos, charivari, chirm, churn, clamor, clangor, clap, clatter, coil, communal, confusion, conjoint, conjunct, conturbation, convulsion, din, discomposure, discord, disorder, disquiet, disquietude, disturbance, dither, donnybrook, donnybrook fair, drunken brawl, dustup, ebullience, ebullition, eddy, effervescence, embroilment, excitement, fanaticism, feery-fary, ferment, fermentation, fever, feverishness, fidgetiness, fidgets, fit, flap, flurry, fluster, flutter, flutteration, flutteriness, foment, fomentation, foofaraw, fracas, free-for-all, frenzy, fume, furor, furore, fury, fuss, fussiness, hassle, hell broke loose, helter-skelter, howl, hubbub, hue and cry, hullabaloo, hurly-burly, hurrah, hurry, hurry-scurry, inquietude, insurgence, insurrection, irritation, jangle, jitters, joint, jumpiness, lather, loud noise, maelstrom, malaise, melee, moil, mutiny, mutual, nerviness, nervosity, nervousness, noise, noise and shouting, outcry, pandemonium, passion, pell-mell, perturbation, pother, public, racket, rage, rampage, rattle, rebellion, restlessness, revolt, rhubarb, riot, roar, roil, rough-and-tumble, roughhouse, rout, row, ruckus, ruction, ruffle, rumble, rumpus, scramble, seethe, seething, shared, shindig, shindy, shivaree, spasm, spurt, stew, stir, storm, storminess, strain, sweat, swirl, swirling, tempestuousness, tension, thunder, thunderclap, tintamarre, to-do, trepidation, trepidity, trouble, tumult, tumultuation, tumultuousness, turbidity, turbulence, turmoil, twitter, unease, unquiet, unrest, upheaval, uprising, uproar, upset, upturn, vexation, vortex, whirl, wildness, yeastiness, zeal, zealousness
Define.com is a registered nonprofit corporation dedicated solely to the global public interest and the advancement of humanity. It belongs to all of us who have a desire to promote electronic democracy, science, creativity, imagination, reason, critical thinking, peace, race and gender equality, civil rights, equal access to education, personal liberty, free speech, animal rights, compassionate and nonviolent parenting, social and economic justice, global monetary reform, Secular Humanism, cognitive liberty and a permanent cessation of The War on Drugs.
Let's see what we can do if we put our heads together.
0