irruption
Americannoun
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a breaking or bursting in; a violent incursion or invasion.
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Ecology. a sudden increase in an animal population.
Etymology
Origin of irruption
1570–80; < Latin irruptiōn- (stem of irruptiō ), equivalent to irrupt ( us ), past participle of irrumpere to burst into ( see ir- 1, rupture) + -iōn- -ion
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.
This irruption prompted the British and Dutch governments to withdraw $2.2 billion they had committed to the project.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 5, 2025
"The principal challenge in the past was eradication by anti-predator campaigns. Today the main challenge is habitat loss, irruption of natural corridors by roads and barriers, and conflict with humans," Marin told Salon.
From Salon • May 31, 2024
Waxwings are annual visitors from Scandinavia but they sometimes come in more significant numbers - known as an irruption - in search of food.
From BBC • Nov. 19, 2023
At the same time, his plots — including that of his new novel, “Mr. Breakfast” — depict the abrupt irruption of the uncanny and terrifying into our familiar workaday world.
From Washington Post • Jan. 20, 2023
Her cheeks were ruddy and chapped in a way that presaged irruption.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson
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.
