Shambles

A state of total disorder, chaos, or ruin. It can refer to a physical mess or disarray, such as a room filled with scattered objects, or to a figurative state of disorganization or collapse, like a failing business or a political system in turmoil. It often implies a sense of degradation, inefficiency, and lack of control. The word evokes a sense of things falling apart, whether gradually or suddenly. It suggests a situation where order and structure have completely broken down, leaving behind a scene or situation of utter confusion and disarray.

Shambles meaning with examples

• The kitchen was left in shambles after the children's baking experiment, with flour covering every surface and ingredients strewn everywhere. Dishes were piled high in the sink, and the floor was sticky. Cleaning up the shambles took hours. The house resembled a disaster zone, a vivid illustration of a catastrophic culinary undertaking.
• After the storm, the town was a shambles, with downed power lines, flooded streets, and damaged buildings. The community struggled to cope with the immediate aftermath, facing both physical and logistical challenges. Rescue workers fought to restore order to the area as the effects of the destructive winds were felt
• His career went into a shambles after a series of bad investments and scandals, he had once been a powerful business man, but the repercussions that resulted in him losing all of his influence.
• The conference hall was in shambles, chairs overturned, papers scattered, and equipment damaged as a result of a violent fight that erupted between attendees. Organizers struggled to restore order before emergency services had to get involved, it took a long time to get the situation to a state of relative composure.