pell-mell
/ˈpɛlˈmɛl/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 2.26 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Hasty and uncontrolled.
adv
In haste and chaos; uncontrolledly, confusedly.
Example Sentences
- "Nor moody Beggars, ſtaruing for a time / Of pell-mell hauocke, and confusion."
- "These present the appearance of masses of water-worn gravel, mixed in the most pell mell confusion, the boulders being often of very large size; but I observed no striae, nor any of the blue tenacious clay of the Till, which it so much resembled."
- "The whole district presents the most pell-mell throwing together imaginable."
- "The pell mell, hell for leather traffic of Lagos was more pell mell, hell for leather than ever."
- "The cattle are less disciplined, more pell-mell, heavy-footed, their hooves stamping the ground to mud in several places."
- "China’s pell-mell, brisk urbanization has in some ways made the challenge harder to face."
Etymology
Origin
- Source language: French
Word Breakdown
- Root: pêle-mêle, pesle-mesle
Usage
Inflected Forms
more pell-mell (comparative)
most pell-mell (superlative)
pell mell (alternative)
pellmell (alternative)