[syn: Bedlam, booby hatch, crazy house, cuckoo's nest, funny farm, funny house, loony bin, madhouse, nut house, nuthouse, sanatorium, snake pit]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Bethlehem \Beth"le*hem\, n. [Heb. b[=e]th-lekhem house of food;
b[=e]th house + lekhem food, l[=a]kham to eat. Formerly the
name of a hospital for the insane, in London, which had been
the priory of St. Mary of Bethlehem. Cf. Bedlam.]
1. A hospital for lunatics; -- corrupted into bedlam.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Arch.) In the Ethiopic church, a small building attached
to a church edifice, in which the bread for the eucharist
is made. --Audsley.
[1913 Webster] Bethlehemite
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Bedlam \Bed"lam\, n. [See Bethlehem.]
1. A place appropriated to the confinement and care of the
insane; a madhouse. --Abp. Tillotson.
[1913 Webster]
2. An insane person; a lunatic; a madman. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
Let's get the bedlam to lead him. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
3. Any place where uproar and confusion prevail.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Bedlam \Bed"lam\, a.
Belonging to, or fit for, a madhouse. "The bedlam, brainsick
duchess." --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
bedlam
n 1: a state of extreme confusion and disorder [syn: chaos,
pandemonium, bedlam, topsy-turvydom, topsy-
turvyness]
2: pejorative terms for an insane asylum [syn: Bedlam, booby
hatch, crazy house, cuckoo's nest, funny farm, funny
house, loony bin, madhouse, nut house, nuthouse,
sanatorium, snake pit]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
67 Moby Thesaurus words for "bedlam":
Babel, Bedlam let loose, asylum, blast, bobbery, brawl, brouhaha,
bughouse, cacophony, chaos, charivari, chirm, clamor, clangor,
clap, clatter, commotion, confusion, confusion of tongues, din,
discord, donnybrook, drunken brawl, dustup, flap, fracas,
free-for-all, hell, hell broke loose, howl, hubbub, hue and cry,
hullabaloo, insane asylum, jangle, loud noise, lunatic asylum,
madhouse, mental home, mental hospital, mental institution, noise,
noise and shouting, nuthouse, outcry, padded cell, pandemonium,
psychiatric ward, psychopathic hospital, racket, rattle, rhubarb,
roar, row, ruckus, ruction, rumble, rumpus, shindy, shivaree,
static, thunder, thunderclap, tintamarre, tumult, turmoil,
uproar