Noun: bedlam bed-lum
Usage: archaic
- A state of extreme confusion and disorder
"The announcement caused bedlam in the stock market";
- chaos, pandemonium, topsy-turvydom [informal], topsy-turvyness [informal], madhouse [informal], tohubohu [US]
Usage: archaic
- Pejorative term for an insane asylum
- booby hatch [N. Amer, informal], crazy house [informal], cuckoo's nest [informal], funny farm [informal], funny house [informal], loony bin [informal], madhouse [informal], nut house [informal], nuthouse [informal], bughouse [N. Amer, informal], lunatic asylum
Derived forms: bedlams
Type of: asylum, confusion, insane asylum [archaic], institution, mental home, mental hospital, mental institution, psychiatric hospital
Encyclopedia: Bedlam, Shropshire