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Definition
a state of extreme confusion and disorderAt one time, bedlam was also used as a disapproving term for any psychiatric hospital. As a proper noun, Bedlam was the name of the first psychiatric hospital in London (early 15th century).
- Amid all sorts of bedlam the teacher continued taking attendance.
bedlam = a state of extreme confusion and disorder
- bedlam erupted
- It was bedlam on the other side.Jerry Spinelli -- Milkweed
- The reading room, housed right up in the dome of the building, was formerly the chapel of the Royal Bethlehem Hospital—the old Bedlam.Ian McEwan -- Atonement
- One more night of this kid will send me to a bed in Bedlam.O. Henry -- The Ransom of Red Chief
- And from time to time paid his visits to Bedlam.William Styron -- Sophie's Choice
- As might be expected, throwing open the doors of any school to every freshman in Chicago threatened to create bedlam.Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner -- Freakonomics
- Cain says nothing of the bedlam in my mind.Sabaa Tahir -- An Ember in the Ashes
- Why, not to put too fine a point upon it, this is Bedlam, sir!" says Mr. Snagsby.Charles Dickens -- Bleak House
- Margaret Kochamma's tiny, ordered life relinquished itself to this truly baroque bedlam with the quiet gasp of a warm body entering a chilly sea.Arundhati Roy -- The God of Small Things
- And if I invite all Newgate or all Bedlam here, by —— they shall be welcome.William Makepeace Thackeray -- Vanity Fair
- But on Wednesday, when they arrived at the turnoff to KAEC, it was bedlam.Dave Eggers -- A Hologram for the King
- The child might have to be sent to the hospital of Bethlehem, which later ages were to call Bedlam.T. H. White -- The Once and Future King
- A woman's scream rose above the bedlam and suddenly a lovely, dark-haired girl was in Walter Mitty's arms.James Thurber -- The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
- In the middle of all the bedlam, Jenny actually turned and called over her shoulder, "Be right back, boys!"John Grogan -- Marley & Me
- The bedlam in the street rose higher" more men climbed through trapdoors to the roof.Richard Wright -- Native Son
- Emily ate leaning against the counter like me—avoiding the bedlam at the table—and watched them with affectionate eyes.Stephenie Meyer -- New Moon
- The street was as busy as a beehive and as noisy as a bedlam.Zane Grey -- The Border Legion
- He saw Annie Wilkes in a long aproned dress, her hair covered with a mobcap, an Annie who looked like a nurse in London's Bedlam Hospital.Stephen King -- Misery
- In the newsroom one level down, it would be bedlam.J.D. Robb -- Glory in Death
bedlam = extreme confusion and disorder
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