- (literary)
a situation full of strong emotions or confusing events, that is hard to control and makes you feel frightened （思想、感情、事态的）混乱，骚乱，动乱 a maelstrom of conflicting emotions 矛盾情感的漩涡 They were being sucked into the maelstrom of war. 他们被卷入了战争的漩涡。
a very strong current of water that moves in circles 大旋涡
Word Originlate 17th cent.: from early modern Dutch (denoting a mythical whirlpool in the Arctic Ocean, west of Norway), from maalen ‘grind, whirl’ + stroom ‘stream’.