[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

commotion \commo"tion\, n. l. commotio: cf. f. commotion. see
   motion.
   1. disturbed or violent motion; agitation.
      1913 webster

            what commotion in the winds        --shak.
      1913 webster

   2. a popular tumult; public disturbance; riot.
      1913 webster

            when ye shall hear of wars and commotions. --luke
                                                  xxi. 9.
      1913 webster

   3. agitation, perturbation, or disorder, of mind; heat;
      excitement. "he could not debate anything without some
      commotion." --clarendon.

   syn: excitement; agitation; perturbation; disturbance;
        tumult; disorder; violence.
        1913 webster
see also:
motion 

[2] : WordNet (r) 2.0

commotion
     n 1: a disorderly outburst or tumult; "they were amazed by the
          furious disturbance they had caused" syn: disturbance,
           disruption, stir, flutter, hurly burly, to-do,
           hoo-ha, hoo-hah, kerfuffle
     2: the act of making a noisy disturbance syn: din, ruction,
         ruckus, rumpus, tumult
     3: confused movement; "he was caught up in a whirl of work"; "a
        commotion of people fought for the exits" syn: whirl
see also:
disturbance disruption stir flutter hurly burly to-do 
hoo-ha hoo-hah kerfuffle din ruction 
ruckus rumpus tumult whirl 

[3] : Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

185 moby thesaurus words for "commotion":
   bedlam let loose, ado, agitation, annoyance, bedlam, blast,
   bluster, bobbery, boil, boiling, bother, botheration, brawl, broil,
   brouhaha, burst, bustle, cacophony, chaos, charivari, chirm, churn,
   clamor, clangor, clap, clatter, coil, communal, confusion,
   conjoint, conjunct, conturbation, convulsion, din, discomposure,
   discord, disorder, disquiet, disquietude, disturbance, dither,
   donnybrook, donnybrook fair, drunken brawl, dustup, ebullience,
   ebullition, eddy, effervescence, embroilment, excitement,
   fanaticism, feery-fary, ferment, fermentation, fever, feverishness,
   fidgetiness, fidgets, fit, flap, flurry, fluster, flutter,
   flutteration, flutteriness, foment, fomentation, foofaraw, fracas,
   free-for-all, frenzy, fume, furor, furore, fury, fuss, fussiness,
   hassle, hell broke loose, helter-skelter, howl, hubbub,
   hue and cry, hullabaloo, hurly-burly, hurrah, hurry, hurry-scurry,
   inquietude, insurgence, insurrection, irritation, jangle, jitters,
   joint, jumpiness, lather, loud noise, maelstrom, malaise, melee,
   moil, mutiny, mutual, nerviness, nervosity, nervousness, noise,
   noise and shouting, outcry, pandemonium, passion, pell-mell,
   perturbation, pother, public, racket, rage, rampage, rattle,
   rebellion, restlessness, revolt, rhubarb, riot, roar, roil,
   rough-and-tumble, roughhouse, rout, row, ruckus, ruction, ruffle,
   rumble, rumpus, scramble, seethe, seething, shared, shindig,
   shindy, shivaree, spasm, spurt, stew, stir, storm, storminess,
   strain, sweat, swirl, swirling, tempestuousness, tension, thunder,
   thunderclap, tintamarre, to-do, trepidation, trepidity, trouble,
   tumult, tumultuation, tumultuousness, turbidity, turbulence,
   turmoil, twitter, unease, unquiet, unrest, upheaval, uprising,
   uproar, upset, upturn, vexation, vortex, whirl, wildness,
   yeastiness, zeal, zealousness

Commotion >> C Words
Commotion, definition of term: Commotion
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