outpouring
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of outpouring
1750–60; out- + pouring ( def. )
Explanation
An outpouring is a gush, flow, or fast stream of something. An outpouring of lava from an active volcano would be a bad thing, but an outpouring of support from the community would be a very good thing. A literal outpouring is something you can actually see, like an outpouring of water from a hose. It's actually more common to use outpouring figuratively, as in an outpouring of community support for a family of refugees or an outpouring of new work by a prolific artist. This noun dates from the fifteenth century, when it was first used to describe "a pouring out of spiritual things."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Humouring Barack Obama is not one of them.
From The Guardian • Jul. 24, 2015
Humouring my patient, I sent word to the stranger that I could not see him, but, in an undertone, instructed the servant to say that the man might call at my office the next morning.
From Masterpieces of Mystery Riddle Stories by French, Joseph Lewis
Humouring you won't do your nervous breakdown any good.
From The Pretty Lady by Bennett, Arnold
Humouring him, I helped him into his trousers ... painfully he put on his shirt, neatly tied his tie, while I steadied him.
From Tramping on Life An Autobiographical Narrative by Kemp, Harry
Humouring him, Franklin followed for a quarter of a mile.
From The Girl at the Halfway House A Story of the Plains by Hough, Emerson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
