Make Your Point: MAELSTROM

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pronounce MAELSTROM:

MALE strum

connect this word to others:

When you want to describe some situation as swirling, whirling, violent, chaotic, and confusing, like a deadly ocean vortex that sucks in ships, you could call it a maelstrom.

What if you want to imply that it's less like a whirlpool of seawater and more like a swelling crowd of people? Then call it a t_m__t.

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)

definition:

"Maelstrom" comes from Dutch and means "a whirlpool," or more literally, "a grinding stream."

We've used "maelstrom" in English since the late 1500s, first as a reference to a specific whirlpool near Norway, one that people imagined was terribly dangerous, swallowing any ships that got near it:

(Source)

More generally, a maelstrom is a messy or violent thing or situation that seems to swirl powerfully and destructively.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Noun, the countable kind: "The movie is a maelstrom of emotions."

Other forms:

The plural is "maelstroms."

how to use it:

When you want a more emphatic, more exotic-sounding word than "swirl," "storm," "whirlwind," or "pandemonium," pick "maelstrom."

Just be sure you get the spelling right: there's no "storm" in "maelstrom." A maelstrom, etymologically, at least, is less like a storm and more like a stream.

You might talk about a maelstrom of emotion, a maelstrom of political chaos, or a maelstrom of criticism on social media.

Or slightly more literally: a maelstrom of gnats, or flies, or hyped-up kids.

Since a literal maelstrom is a violently swirling whirlpool in a body of water, you could talk figuratively about people plunging or descending into a maelstrom, getting pulled into the center of a maelstrom, drowning in a maelstrom and so on.

examples:

"Surveillance, drone warfare, capital punishment and environmental disaster are among the subjects she addresses, in songs that plunge into electronic maelstroms and quiver with urgency."
— Jon Pareles, New York Times, 21 April 2016

"The 21-year-old star player [Angel Reese] is at the center of a maelstrom of hate and internet trolling that began last year. When Reese led her team to a national championship against Clark, an interaction that some characterized as 'trash-talking' went viral, prompting attacks from basketball fans, commentators and even sports journalists."
— Nardos Haile, Salon, 15 April 2024

has this page helped you understand "maelstrom"?

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Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this term, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "maelstrom" without saying "turmoil" or "turbulence."

try it out:

Fill in the blanks: "(Inside, outside, or far from) the maelstrom of _____, _____ was the place to relax."

Example 1: "On my college campus, a short walk from the maelstrom of noise and crowds and the sharp smell of onion-heavy Subway sandwiches in Cooper Hall, the library was the place to relax."

Example 2: "After slogging through E3's usual spate of hack-and-slash and shoot-em-up games, it was a relief to enter a world where the only person you can injure is yourself. Ubisoft's upcoming Steep puts you on top of a mountain and lets you whizz down it... Inside the maelstrom of E3, there was no better place to relax."
— Staff, The Verge, 17 June 2016

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game this month is "Idiom Savant."

Flex your facility with familiar phrases by quickly pairing them off with words closely associated in meaning.

For example, you might pair the idiom "a cat has nine lives" with the word "resilient;" "water under the bridge" with "inconsequential;" and "when it rains, it pours" with "proliferate."

Try this last set today:

Pair these idioms...

1. a day late and a dollar short
2. a hot mess
3. to pay the pied piper
4. to read them the riot act
5. to spare no expense

With these words...

A. kludge
B. largesse
C. repercussions
D. scant
E. upbraid

To see the answers, scroll all the way down.

review this word:

1. The opposite of a MAELSTROM could be

A. FOUND POETRY.
B. SMOOTH WATERS.
C. a STARRY NIGHT.

2. In a nonfiction work, Samantha Seiple wrote: "Hidden underneath the _____ surface was a maelstrom of _____."

A. tile .. mold
B. tranquil .. fear and suspicion
C. story's simple .. wisdom and encouragement

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.

I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.

From my blog:
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  Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
  How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
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How to motivate our kids to write.
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From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

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