helter-skelter
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hel·ter-skel·ter
(hĕl′tər-skĕl′tər)adv.
1. In disorderly haste; confusedly; pell-mell.
2. Haphazardly.
adj.
1. Carelessly hurried and confused.
2. Haphazard.
n.
Turmoil; confusion.
[Origin unknown.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
helter-skelter
(ˈhɛltəˈskɛltə)adj
haphazard or carelessly hurried
adv
in a helter-skelter manner
n
1. Brit a high spiral slide, as at a fairground
2. disorder or haste
[C16: probably of imitative origin]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
hel•ter-skel•ter
(ˈhɛl tərˈskɛl tər)adv.
1. in headlong and disorderly haste.
2. in a haphazard manner; without regard for order: clothes scattered helter-skelter.
adj. 3. carelessly hurried.
4. disorderly; haphazard.
n. 5. tumultuous disorder; confusion.
[1585–95; rhyming compound, perhaps based on *skelt, Middle English skelten to hasten]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
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Adj. | 1. | helter-skelter - lacking a visible order or organization disorganised, disorganized - lacking order or methodical arrangement or function; "a disorganized enterprise"; "a thousand pages of muddy and disorganized prose"; "she was too disorganized to be an agreeable roommate" |
2. | helter-skelter - with undue hurry and confusion; "a helter-skelter kind of existence with never a pause"; "a pell-mell dash for the train" hurried - moving rapidly or performed quickly or in great haste; "a hurried trip to the store"; "the hurried life of a city"; "a hurried job" | |
Adv. | 1. | helter-skelter - haphazardly; "the books were piled up helter-skelter" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
helter-skelter
adjective
1. haphazard, confused, disordered, random, muddled, jumbled, topsy-turvy, hit-or-miss, higgledy-piggledy (informal) another crisis in his helter-skelter existence
adverb
1. wildly, rashly, anyhow, headlong, recklessly, carelessly, pell-mell a panic-stricken crowd running helter-skelter
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
helter-skelter
adjectiveCharacterized by physical confusion:
Informal: mixed-up.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
helter-skelter
[ˈheltəˈskeltəʳ]A. ADV (= in a rush) → atropelladamente; (= in confusion) → a la desbandada
B. N
1. (Brit) (at fair) → tobogán m
2. (= rush) → desbandada f general
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
helter-skelter
[ˌhɛltərˈskɛltər] n (British) (at amusement park) → toboggan m
adj (= chaotic) [existence] → désordonné(e)
adv [run] → pêle-mêle
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
helter-skelter
adj → wild; account → chaotisch; the last minute helter-skelter rush for the bus → die wilde Hetze in letzter Minute, um den Bus zu erwischen
n
(Brit, in fairground) → spiralförmige Rutschbahn
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
helter-skelter
[ˈhɛltəˈskɛltəʳ]1. adv → in fretta e furia, in quattro e quattr'otto
2. n (Brit) (in funfair) → scivolo (a spirale)
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
helter-skelter
(ˈheltəˈskeltə) adverb in great hurry and confusion.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.