Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

turbulent

American  
[tur-byuh-luhnt] / ˈtɜr byə lənt /

adjective

  1. being in a state of agitation or tumult; disturbed.

    turbulent feelings or emotions.

    Synonyms:
    disordered, tempestuous, violent, tumultuous, agitated
  2. characterized by, or showing disturbance, disorder, etc..

    the turbulent years.

  3. given to acts of violence and aggression.

    the turbulent young soldiers.


turbulent British  
/ ˈtɜːbjʊlənt /

adjective

  1. being in a state of turbulence

  2. wild or insubordinate; unruly

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • turbulently adverb
  • unturbulent adjective
  • unturbulently adverb

Etymology

Origin of turbulent

First recorded in 1530–40; from Latin turbulentus “restless,” from turb(a) “turmoil” + -ulentus -ulent

Compare meaning

How does turbulent compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

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.

In a turbulent year during which markets were disrupted by tariffs and geopolitical uncertainty but boosted by artificial intelligence and interest-rate cuts that weakened the dollar, gold became many things for many people.

From Barron's

In a turbulent year during which markets were disrupted by tariffs and geopolitical uncertainty but boosted by artificial intelligence and interest-rate cuts that weakened the dollar, gold became many things for many people.

From Barron's

After a turbulent year for the Church in Wales, Archbishop Vann said she was very conscious of her responsibility to fix the issues that led to her predecessor's departure.

From BBC

Using their new model, the researchers followed how matter spirals inward, forming turbulent, radiation-dominated disks around stellar mass black holes.

From Science Daily

The 11 books described below, all published recently, give us helpful sight lines into our turbulent AI age.

From Los Angeles Times