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Synonyms

upsurge

American  
[uhp-surj, uhp-surj] / ʌpˈsɜrdʒ, ˈʌpˌsɜrdʒ /

verb (used without object)

upsurged, upsurging

  1. to surge up; increase; rise.

    Water upsurged. Crime upsurged.

noun

  1. the act of surging up; a large or rapid increase.

    an upsurge in sales.
upsurge British  

verb

  1. literary (intr) to surge up

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a rapid rise or swell

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of upsurge

First recorded in 1915–20; up- + surge

Explanation

An upsurge is when there's a sudden rise of something's strength or size. Hordes of people walking around your town with cameras might be due to an upsurge in tourism, for example. News shows often announce that there's an upsurge of crime or an upsurge of available jobs in public education. The noun upsurge is most often used in this figurative way, rather than to talk about something literally surging up, like stormy waves. These are more likely to be described as a surge, which is actually the root of upsurge — a surge is a "high, rolling swell of water," from the Latin surgere, "to rise."

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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.

Cathay also said extra flights to Europe would be operated in March to cater for an upsurge in demand.

From Barron's • Mar. 11, 2026

When that did not lead to a sustained upsurge in births, authorities announced that they would allow up to three children per couple in 2021.

From BBC • Jan. 19, 2026

In 1917, during World War I, Weber detected an upsurge of irrationality that suggested sociology cannot master religion—the return of the ancient gods as disenchanted “impersonal forces,” notably in the impolite social form of politics.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 31, 2025

Some observers have predicted an upsurge in migration in the coming months.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 7, 2024

Meanwhile, farmers in Louisiana showed growing reluctance to sign up for the project as it became evident that use of chemicals against the fire ant was causing an upsurge of insects destructive to sugarcane.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

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.