tumultuous
Americanadjective
-
full of tumult or riotousness; marked by disturbance and uproar.
a tumultuous celebration.
- Synonyms:
- violent, turbulent, uproarious
-
raising a great clatter and commotion; disorderly or noisy.
a tumultuous crowd of students.
- Synonyms:
- boisterous
-
highly agitated, as the mind or emotions; distraught; turbulent.
- Synonyms:
- unquiet
adjective
-
uproarious, riotous, or turbulent
a tumultuous welcome
-
greatly agitated, confused, or disturbed
a tumultuous dream
-
making a loud or unruly disturbance
tumultuous insurgents
Other Word Forms
- nontumultuous adjective
- nontumultuously adverb
- nontumultuousness noun
- tumultuously adverb
- tumultuousness noun
- untumultuous adjective
- untumultuously adverb
- untumultuousness noun
Etymology
Origin of tumultuous
First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin tumultuōsus, from tumultu(s) tumult + -ōsus -ous
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.
The year 2025 was more tumultuous than any silly football game and its accompanying overwrought metaphors.
From Los Angeles Times
Surely we can’t be expected to endure another such tumultuous turn around the sun?
From Los Angeles Times
Results of the election were tight and, due to the tumultuous nature of the processing system, around 15% of the tally sheets had to be counted by hand for the winner to be decided.
From BBC
They had a tumultuous marriage that ended in divorce when I was 5.
But in tumultuous Myanmar, even clairvoyants urge caution.
From Barron's
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.
