1
as in storms
a disturbance of the atmosphere accompanied by wind and often by precipitation (as rain or snow)
the sudden summertime tempest drove us off the golf course and into the clubhouse
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in upheavals
a violent disturbance (as of the political or social order)
the town council handled the tempest over cuts to the school budget as well as could be expected
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tempests
One version of the nation’s history anchors itself in the efforts to navigate those tempests, to better the imperfect tools bequeathed to us by imperfect men.
—
Jelani Cobb,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
For now, Buttigieg has chosen to wait out the tempests in Traverse City, the hometown of his husband, Chasten, a former schoolteacher.
—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
3 Mar. 2026
But flooding — and not just from those tropical tempests — is a multibillion-dollar threat that is largely untracked by government agencies and often kept secret from the public.
—
Miami Herald,
12 Nov. 2025
But instead of clouds and rain, these electromagnetic tempests are made of plasma, charged particles whipped into motion by Earth's magnetic field.
—
Daisy Dobrijevic,
Space.com,
4 Aug. 2025
Jelani Cobb,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
For now, Buttigieg has chosen to wait out the tempests in Traverse City, the hometown of his husband, Chasten, a former schoolteacher.
—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
3 Mar. 2026
But flooding — and not just from those tropical tempests — is a multibillion-dollar threat that is largely untracked by government agencies and often kept secret from the public.
—
Miami Herald,
12 Nov. 2025
But instead of clouds and rain, these electromagnetic tempests are made of plasma, charged particles whipped into motion by Earth's magnetic field.
—
Daisy Dobrijevic,
Space.com,
4 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tempests
Noun
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While rain coverage is expected to remain limited, any storms that develop could produce gusty winds, frequent lightning and locally heavy rainfall.
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While most areas will remain dry through the end of this week, there is a chance for weakening showers and storms over far northwestern Missouri each evening, the weather service said.
Noun
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The cyclical reality awaiting ‘naive capital’ Allianz is far from the only insurer to have prospered through recent upheavals.
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Not every government will experience Ethiopia’s dramatic upheavals.
Noun
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Alfonzo’s younger sister, Eliana, and stepmother, Patricia, have been missing since last month when earthquakes caused widespread devastation in his home country of Venezuela.
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It is estimated that there are 500,000 detectable earthquakes in the world each year.
Noun
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The Courant has reported some colonists were not exactly thrilled by the notion of severing ties with England and that true believers in independence probably initially were in the minority, as with all revolutions.
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A16z partners, including SDN pioneers Martin Casado and Raghu Raghuram, see Netris as essential for the AI era, akin to past data center networking revolutions.
Cite this Entry
“Tempests.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tempests. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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