upheaval
Americannoun
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upheavals
plural
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strong or violent change or disturbance, as in a society.
the upheaval of war.
- Synonyms:
- turmoil, disorder, disruption
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an act of upheaving, especially of a part of the earth's crust.
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the state of being upheaved.
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Geology. an upward warping of a part of the earth's crust, forcing certain areas into a relatively higher position than before.
noun
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a strong, sudden, or violent disturbance, as in politics, social conditions, etc
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geology another word for uplift
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of upheaval
Explanation
Upheaval means a violent or sudden change. You might talk about an upheaval in government following an election where many incumbents are replaced. Upheaval is a geological term for the upward displacement of the earth's crust that has stretched to include a change in power or ideas. If you suddenly found out your favorite teacher was running a pyramid scheme and had escaped to a Caribbean island, you might experience an upheaval in your attitude toward teachers in general.
Vocabulary lists containing upheaval
Brace Yourself: Earthquake Words
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Mayhem! Chaos! Pandemonium!
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Bridge to Terabithia
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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.
See Examples For:
"The geopolitical upheaval that we have seen recently is not the root cause of this referendum. But obviously, those concerns are impacting the debate," Bifrost University professor Eirikur Bergmann told AFP.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
Perhaps the U.S. and Canada will come to some agreement in the coming days and avert more economic upheaval.
From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026
The upheaval at Fannie Mae adds to the already uncertain outlook for the housing market.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
This school year also opens after months of leadership upheaval.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
“If the strike succeeds,” he proclaimed, “it might and probably would be the beginning of an upheaval which might bring on all of us grave and serious consequences.”
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
It has survived wars and upheavals, but the famed handwoven Kashmir carpet industry is now battling a steady decline as younger generations abandon the painstaking craft.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
She sees a nation that has endured wars, depressions and cultural upheavals, and she wonders what inner resources we must cultivate to endure what comes next.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
With a series of major upheavals in the past month alone, Roberts has signaled that he is shifting to a two-minute offense.
From Slate ● May 13, 2026
The wave of demonstrations marked some of the most dramatic upheavals in Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution, which installed the clerical system led by a Supreme Leader.
From BBC ● Feb. 13, 2026
They were ripples in the landscape, faint echoes of vast upheavals elsewhere.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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.
