Tohubohu
Noun
- A state of chaos; utter confusion.
Example Sentences
“The mayor’s sudden resignation left the city council in a tohubohu.”
“After a long weekend, the students were always in a tohubohu.”
“My closet is in a tohubohu, and I can’t do any shopping until I clear it out.”
Word Origin
Hebrew, 1611
Why this word?
In a modern sense, “tohubohu” refers to a state of chaos. Originally, however, it meant something very different. The Hebrew phrase “tōhū wa-ḇōhū,” or “emptiness and desolation,” was translated in the Bible of 1611 in Genesis 1:2 as “without form and void.” It refers to the world just before the creation of light.