tempest

American  

[tem-pist] / ˈtɛm pɪst /

noun

1. a violent windstorm, especially one with rain, hail, or snow.

2. a violent commotion, disturbance, or tumult.

---

verb (used with object)

1. to affect by or as by a tempest; disturb violently.

idioms

1. tempest in a teacup. teacup.

tempest British  

/ ˈtɛmpɪst /

noun

1. literary a violent wind or storm

2. a violent commotion, uproar, or disturbance

---

verb

1. poetic (tr) to agitate or disturb violently

Etymology

Origin of tempest

1200–50; Middle English tempeste < Old French < Vulgar Latin *tempesta, for Latin tempestās season, weather, storm, equivalent to tempes- (variant stem of tempus time) + -tās -ty ²

Example Sentences

Haiti's Civil Protection Agency reported two people died and another was injured Thursday when the tempest triggered a landslide in the west of the island nation.

From Barron's

But summoning this tempest is something of an act of will.

From The Wall Street Journal

Minutes later, these new friends cross the threshold into George and Martha’s dissolute tempest.

From The Wall Street Journal

Isn’t the whole uproar over Mr. Smith’s snooping on senators’ phone records a “tempest and teapot” given he had to follow rules?

From The Wall Street Journal

When he finally turned south, however, he met what may have been the fiercest tempest on Lake Superior in more than 60 years.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• cyclone
• furor
• hurricane
• squall
• tornado
• tumult
• upheaval
• uproar
• windstorm