tumultuous
adjective
tu·mul·tu·ous
tu̇-ˈməl-chə-wəs 
tyu̇-,
tə-,
-chəs;
-ˈməlch-wəs
1
: marked by tumult : loud, excited, and emotional
tumultuous applause
2
: tending or disposed to cause or incite a tumult
the laws … were violated by a tumultuous faction—
Edward Gibbon
Edward Gibbon3
: marked by violent or overwhelming turbulence or upheaval
tumultuous passions
tumultuously
adverb
tumultuousness
noun
Synonyms
Examples of tumultuous in a Sentence
For someone with such a tumultuous inner world, the muscular choice-is-all school of moral philosophy could not be satisfactory.
—Martha C. Nussbaum, New Republic, 31 Dec. 2001
The tumultuous sensual undercurrent of the Orient had, like water in the desert, gone underground and though perhaps it bubbled up behind courtyard walls, in public places it kept out of sight.
—Leila Hadley, Give Me the World, (1958) 1999
The teams walked onto the field to tumultuous applause.
—J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, 1999
We were not accustomed to loran, and to pick up a buoy, as I now did with my binoculars, after thirty days of tumultuous seas, at precisely the time and angle that our charted position led us to anticipate, struck me as nothing short of miraculous.
—Louis Auchincloss, "Atlantic War,"
in Authors at Sea, Robert Shenk, ed., 1997
The returning astronauts were given a tumultuous welcome.
The room filled with tumultuous applause.
Martha C. Nussbaum, New Republic, 31 Dec. 2001
The tumultuous sensual undercurrent of the Orient had, like water in the desert, gone underground and though perhaps it bubbled up behind courtyard walls, in public places it kept out of sight.
—Leila Hadley, Give Me the World, (1958) 1999
The teams walked onto the field to tumultuous applause.
—J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, 1999
We were not accustomed to loran, and to pick up a buoy, as I now did with my binoculars, after thirty days of tumultuous seas, at precisely the time and angle that our charted position led us to anticipate, struck me as nothing short of miraculous.
—Louis Auchincloss, "Atlantic War,"
in Authors at Sea, Robert Shenk, ed., 1997
The returning astronauts were given a tumultuous welcome.
The room filled with tumultuous applause.
Recent Examples on the Web
The early cosmos underwent a series of tumultuous phase transitions as the fundamental forces of nature split off from each other.
—Paul Sutter, Ars Technica, 14 Jan. 2025
Rodgers had a tumultuous two years with the New York Jets, playing only one full season and throwing for 3,897 yards and 28 touchdowns.
—Ryan Gaydos, Fox News, 12 Jan. 2025
Football romances give us a juicy peek into the proverbial locker room of professional sports, full of tension as characters balance their devotion to the game with their tumultuous love lives.
—Ellie K. Wilde, People.com, 11 Jan. 2025
The unprecedented hearing -- which Trump attended virtually from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida -- capped off a yearslong tumultuous and, at times, embarrassing ordeal that resulted in him becoming the first former president to be criminally convicted.
—Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 10 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for tumultuous 
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Paul Sutter, Ars Technica, 14 Jan. 2025
Rodgers had a tumultuous two years with the New York Jets, playing only one full season and throwing for 3,897 yards and 28 touchdowns.
—Ryan Gaydos, Fox News, 12 Jan. 2025
Football romances give us a juicy peek into the proverbial locker room of professional sports, full of tension as characters balance their devotion to the game with their tumultuous love lives.
—Ellie K. Wilde, People.com, 11 Jan. 2025
The unprecedented hearing -- which Trump attended virtually from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida -- capped off a yearslong tumultuous and, at times, embarrassing ordeal that resulted in him becoming the first former president to be criminally convicted.
—Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 10 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for tumultuous
Dictionary Entries Near tumultuous
Cite this Entry
“Tumultuous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tumultuous. Accessed 19 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
tumultuous
adjective
tu·mul·tu·ous
t(y)u̇-ˈməlch-(ə-)wəs
-ˈməl-chəs
: being or suggesting a tumult
a tumultuous welcome for the astronauts
tumultuously
adverb
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