1. Pejorative term for an insane asylum
   "The old hospital was nicknamed the madhouse by locals";
   - Bedlam [archaic], booby hatch [N. Amer, informal], crazy house [informal], cuckoo's nest [informal], funny farm [informal], funny house [informal], loony bin [informal], nut house [informal], nuthouse [informal], bughouse [N. Amer, informal], lunatic asylum
    
2. A state of extreme confusion and disorder
   "The emergency room was a madhouse after the accident";
   - chaos, pandemonium, bedlam, topsy-turvydom [informal], topsy-turvyness [informal], tohubohu [US]

Derived forms: madhouses

Type of: asylum, confusion, insane asylum [archaic], institution, mental home, mental hospital, mental institution, psychiatric hospital

Encyclopedia: Madhouse, Inc