outburst
Americannoun
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outbursts
plural
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a sudden and violent release or outpouring.
an outburst of tears.
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a sudden spell of activity, energy, etc.
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a public disturbance; riot; outbreak.
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a bursting forth; eruption.
noun
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a sudden and violent expression of emotion
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an explosion or eruption
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of outburst
Explanation
When you can't help an angry shout or a burst of emotion, that's an outburst. A toddler's outburst might take the form of a full-blown temper tantrum. An outburst of passion or emotion can be angry words, a broken glass, or a triumphant whoop. There are also figurative outbursts, like the outburst of political enthusiasm within a particular group of voters, or an outburst of energy in the midst of a modern dance performance. The Middle English verb that proceeded outburst was outbresten.
Vocabulary lists containing outburst
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.
See Examples For:
A 70-point scoring outburst last week in which QB Gerald Torres threw five TD passes vs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
Slugger Cal Raleigh followed his 60-home run outburst by hitting under .200.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
In 2023, a glacial lake outburst flood in Sikkim killed at least 70 people and caused widespread damage to roads, bridges and hydropower projects.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
When Swift detects an outburst, it can quickly turn toward the source and alert other observatories on the ground and in space.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 1, 2026
“I don’t want lots of things I want,” Yossarian replied, and then beat his fist down against the mattress in an outburst of rage and frustration.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
Amatya, the company’s acting chief executive, said the project was designed to survive intense, low-probability floods, but not glacial lake outbursts and catastrophic debris flows.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
"So you are going to get more landslides, debris flows, glacial meltwater, lake outbursts, glacier collapses, because climate warming ultimately destabilises these high mountain environments."
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
Her husky voice is familiar to pilots in Greek skies -- as are her outbursts.
From Barron's ● Aug. 23, 2026
But where once these kinds of outbursts would have made waves, they now seem to ripple at best.
From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026
The staff members were always on guard to control these sporadic outbursts.
From "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah
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.
