adj
Meaning 1
Hasty and uncontrolled.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
pell-mell
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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/ˈpɛlˈmɛl/
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homophone: pall mall (US)
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US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
adv
Meaning 2
In haste and chaos; uncontrolledly, confusedly.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
Alternative form of pall mall (“ball game”).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: alt-of, alternative, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adjective satellite
Meaning 4
with undue hurry and confusion
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- a helter-skelter kind of existence with never a pause
- a pell-mell dash for the train
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: helter-skelter
Antonyms: none provided
adverb
Meaning 5
in a wild or reckless manner
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- dashing harum-scarum all over the place
- running pell-mell up the stairs
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: harum-scarum
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
From French pêle-mêle, from Old French pesle-mesle, apparently a rhyme based on the stem of mesler (“to mix, meddle”). Compare meddle, melee.
Across languages
Translations
23 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Bulgarian: безреден (bezreden) — uncontrolled
- Bulgarian: неконтролиран (nekontroliran) — uncontrolled
- Czech: páté přes deváté — uncontrolled
- Dutch: haastig — uncontrolled
- Dutch: ongecontroleerd — uncontrolled
- Dutch: chaotisch — uncontrolled
- Polish: bezładny — uncontrolled
- Russian: беспоря́дочный (besporjádočnyj) — uncontrolled
- Russian: тяп-ляп (tjap-ljap) — uncontrolled
- Bulgarian: безразборно (bezrazborno) — in haste and chaos
- Bulgarian: лудешки (ludeški) — in haste and chaos
- Czech: hlava nehlava — in haste and chaos
- Czech: o překot — in haste and chaos
- Dutch: haastig — in haste and chaos
- Dutch: ongecontroleerd — in haste and chaos
- Dutch: chaotisch — in haste and chaos
- French: pêle-mêle — in haste and chaos
- Ancient Greek: ἀναμίξ (anamíx) — in haste and chaos
- Polish: bezładnie — in haste and chaos
- Polish: na łeb, na szyję — in haste and chaos
- Russian: беспоря́дочно (besporjádočno) — in haste and chaos
- Russian: тяп-ляп (tjap-ljap) — in haste and chaos
- Swedish: huvudstupa — in haste and chaos