turbulent
Americanadjective
-
being in a state of agitation or tumult; disturbed.
turbulent feelings or emotions.
- Synonyms:
- disordered, tempestuous, violent, tumultuous, agitated
-
characterized by, or showing disturbance, disorder, etc..
the turbulent years.
-
given to acts of violence and aggression.
the turbulent young soldiers.
adjective
-
being in a state of turbulence
-
wild or insubordinate; unruly
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of turbulent
First recorded in 1530–40; from Latin turbulentus “restless,” from turb(a) “turmoil” + -ulentus -ulent
Compare meaning
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Explanation
Turbulent means chaotic, disordered, characterized by conflict. A time of war is a turbulent time for a country. If your family moves and your parents get divorced, you might call that a turbulent period in your history. This adjective also commonly describes unstable or violent movement in the atmosphere, or in oceans and rivers. When the pilot comes announces turbulent air or turbulence ahead, get ready for the plane to bump and shake. Turbulence has another specialized sense when describing an uneven flow of a liquid or gas.
Vocabulary lists containing turbulent
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 16–19
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"The Great Gatsby," Chapter 1 Vocabulary
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This Week in Words: October 13 – 20, 2018
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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.
What we don’t know: What the future holds, in what could be a turbulent winter for the Dodgers and for all of Major League Baseball.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
Italy is preparing for a turbulent autumn following a spike in inflation because of energy prices, with students, truck drivers and farmers taking to the streets ahead of elections next year.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
The decision of Everton's owners TFG to explore selling the club comes as no great surprise after the turbulent events of recent times.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
DELHI—As an aviator, Smit Machchhar had piloted through an in-flight birth, turbulent monsoon skies and a high-wire landing in Greece that stretched his skills to the limit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
For a second the idea glittered before Sefia like one of her Visions: the Five Islands working together in concert, all the warring kingdoms united, their turbulent histories smoothed over in a single decisive victory.
From "The Reader" by Traci Chee
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
