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havoc

   Also found in: Legal, Acronyms, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia 0.09 sec.
hav·oc  (hvk)
n.
1. Widespread destruction; devastation.
2. Disorder or chaos: a wild party that created havoc in the house.
tr.v. hav·ocked, hav·ock·ing, hav·ocs
To destroy or pillage.

[Middle English havok, from Anglo-Norman (crier) havok, (to cry) havoc, variant of Old French havot, plundering, of Germanic origin.]

havoc [ˈhævək]
n
1. destruction; devastation; ruin
2. Informal confusion; chaos
cry havoc Archaic to give the signal for pillage and destruction
play havoc (often foll by with) to cause a great deal of damage, distress, or confusion (to)
vb -ocs, -ocking, -ocked
(tr) Archaic to lay waste
[from Old French havot pillage, probably of Germanic origin]
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.havoc - violent and needless disturbance
disturbance - the act of disturbing something or someone; setting something in motion

havoc
noun
1. devastation, damage, destruction, waste, ruin, wreck, slaughter, ravages, carnage, desolation, rack and ruin, despoliation Rioters caused havoc in the centre of the town.
2. (Informal) disorder, confusion, chaos, disruption, mayhem, shambles A single mare running loose could cause havoc among otherwise reliable stallions.
play havoc with something wreck, destroy, devastate, disrupt, demolish, disorganize, bring into chaos Drug addiction soon played havoc with his career.
Translations
havoc [ˈhævək] Nestragos mpl
to cause or create havochacer estragos
this latest decision will cause havoc in the tourist industryesta última decisión hará estragos or provocará grandes trastornos en el sector turístico
to play havoc with the recession is playing havoc with the government's balance sheetsla recesión está dando al traste con or haciendo estragos en los balances de ejercicio del gobierno
the food in the hotel played havoc with my digestionla comida del hotel me destrozó el estómago
the weather played havoc with sporting fixtures this weekendel mal tiempo arruinó los acontecimientos deportivos del fin de semana
to wreak havochacer estragos
the slugs are wreaking havoc in the gardenlas babosas están arruinando or estropeando el jardín
stress can wreak havoc on the immune systemel estrés puede causar serios trastornos en el sistema inmunológico

havoc [ˈhævək] nravages mpl, dégâts mpl
to cause havoc → semer le chaos
to play havoc with sth → détraquer qch
to wreak havoc (= cause serious damage) → faire des ravages
Slugs wreak havoc on young plants → Les limaces font des ravages sur les jeunes plantes.
Stress can wreak havoc on the immune system → Le stress peut faire des ravages sur le système immunitaire.

havoc
nverheerender Schaden; (= devastation also)Verwüstung f; (= chaos)Chaos nt; to cause or create havocein Chaos verursachen; to wreak havoc in or on or with something, to play havoc with somethingbei etw verheerenden Schaden anrichten; (physical damage also) → etw verwüsten, etw verheerend zurichten; with health, part of the bodyfür etw üble or schlimme Folgen haben, sich übel auf etw (acc)auswirken; with life, careeretw ruinieren; the tornado wreaked havoc all along the coastder Tornado richtete entlang der ganzen Küste große Verwüstungen an; this wreaked havoc with their plansdas brachte ihre Pläne völlig durcheinander; the sudden rise in oil prices played havoc with India’s five-year plander plötzliche Anstieg der Ölpreise hat Indiens Fünfjahresplan vollständig über den Haufen geworfen (inf)

havoc [ˈhævək] ndistruzione f, devastazione f
to wreak havoc on → devastare
to play havoc with (fig) → scombussolare
havoc [ˈhævək] ndistruzione f, devastazione f
to wreak havoc on → devastare
to play havoc with (fig) → scombussolare

havoc
n havoc [ˈhӕvək]
great destruction or damage The hurricane created havoc over a wide area. verwoesting خَراب، دمار опустошение spoušť ødelæggelse die Verwüstung ερήμωση, καταστροφή estragos, destrucción hävitustöö ويرانی sekasorto ravage הֶרֶס विनाश opustošenost, poharanost, katastrofa pusztítás kerusakan eyðilegging, skaði devastazione 大破壊 대혼란, 대파괴 nusiaubimas postījumi kemusnahan verwoesting, averij skade, ødeleggelse spustoszenie devastação prăpăd, ravagii разрушение spúšť opustošenje pustoš förstörelse, ödeläggelse ความหายนะ hasar, yıkım 浩劫,大破壞 спустошення; руйнування تباہی اور بربادی sự tàn phá


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When they had admitted him into the cote, they found that he made more havoc and slew a larger number of them in one day than the Kite could pounce upon in a whole year.
At his command havoc and rapine were let loose once more among the temples of the worship of Brahmah.
The infection spread into the town of Boston, and made much havoc there.
 
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