- Today's Word
Pandemonium
[pan-duh-MOH-nee-um]
Definition
- (noun) A state of utter chaos, wild and noisy disorder, or tumultuous confusion. It describes a situation where everything seems out of control, often with a sense of excitement or frenzy.
Example
When the fire alarm went off during the school assembly, pandemonium broke out as students rushed towards the exits in a chaotic mass.
Fun Fact
The word “pandemonium” was actually invented by the English poet John Milton for his epic poem “Paradise Lost,” published in 1667. In the poem, Pandemonium is the capital of Hell, the high capital of Satan and his peers. Milton created the word by combining the Greek “pan,” meaning “all,” with the Latin “daemonium,” meaning “evil spirit.” Over time, the word evolved from describing the capital of Hell to its current usage of describing any chaotic situation. It’s a prime example of how literature can introduce new words into language, with meanings that can shift over time.
(verb) To criticize someone or something severely and publicly, often with harsh or scathing language.
The columnist excoriated the company’s leadership for ignoring repeated safety warnings.
Excoriate comes from the Latin excoriare, meaning “to strip off the skin,” from ex- (“off”) and corium (“hide” or “skin”). While the word originally described physical abrasion, its meaning shifted metaphorically over time to describe verbal attacks so harsh they feel skin-deep, leaving nothing protected.