tempest

[tem-pist]

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.

tempest

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of tempest¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of tempest¹

C13: from Old French tempeste, from Latin tempestās storm, from tempus time

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. tempest in a teacup. teacup.

Example Sentences

Amid the film’s self-conscious depiction of a brewing tempest, he remains a true force of nature.

From Los Angeles Times

They have looked on the tempests of war, economic turmoil, civil unrest and seesawing politics and remained, as Shakespeare said, an ever-fixed mark, adapting to atmospheric shifts but essentially unchanged.

From Los Angeles Times

The president, it seems, is willing to wait out the tempest created by his tariff plan.

From BBC

The plot picks up after the tempest of the first scene with Dolores implausibly insisting on her innocence: “I did not murder that b***h any more than I’m wearing a diamond tiara.”

From Salon

Now small armies of amateur Internet sleuths and movie fans have joined the fray, turning gripes and teapot tempests into social media scandals.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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