Pandemoniac

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. An individual who exhibits wildly chaotic behavior or extreme enthusiasm in a disorderly way
2. A person displaying a tumultuous and frenzied character, often in social contexts marked by disorder
3. A person acting in a wildly uncontrolled or frenzied manner marked by disorder

Etymology: Milton gave English the word "pandemonium" in 1667, when he coined it for the capital of Hell in "Paradise Lost." The name was built from Greek roots meaning "all the demons," so the infernal city was, quite literally, the place where every demon gathered. Over time "pandemonium" lost its theological setting and came to mean any scene of wild uproar or confusion. "Pandemoniac" grew out of that noun by attaching the suffix "-ac," which turns a noun into an adjective, and it was shaped after "demoniac," a word for someone possessed by a demon. The result describes things that are wild, disorderly, or frenzied in the way that Milton's hellish assembly was.

Synonyms: chaotic, disorderly

Antonyms: orderly, calm