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Mayhem Has Legal Roots
Legally speaking, mayhem refers to the gruesome crime of deliberately causing an injury that permanently disfigures another. The name derives via Middle English from the Anglo-French verb maheimer ("to maim") and is probably of Germanic origin; the English verb maim comes from the same ancestor. The disfigurement sense of mayhem first appeared in English in the 15th century. By the 19th century the word had come to mean any kind of violent behavior; nowadays, mayhem can be used to suggest any kind of chaos or disorder, as in "there was mayhem in the streets during the citywide blackout."
Examples of mayhem in a Sentence
Graham Hillard, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 7 Mar. 2025
Reckoning Part One involves Ethan and his team tracking down two keys that unlock the power of a frightening AI system with the ability to cause mayhem with the world's banks, mess with the power grid, and more.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 28 Feb. 2025
Miller, of course, has been orchestrating vehicular mayhem since his debut feature, the first Mad Max, was released in 1979.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 27 Feb. 2025
One woman was seen jumping over the seats to join the mayhem, while a group of men were caught on camera cornering and hitting another traveler.
—Bonny Chu, Fox News, 23 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mayhem
Cite this Entry
“Mayhem.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mayhem. Accessed 15 Mar. 2025.
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Medical Definition
California Statewide Law Enforcement Association Legal Definition
mayhem
noun
Note: Under the Model Penal Code and the codes of the states that follow it, mayhem is encompassed by assault and aggravated assault.
Anglo-French mahaim, mahain, literally, mutilation, from Old French mahain, from mahaignier to injure, mutilate
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