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

3

: marked by violent or overwhelming turbulence or upheaval

tumultuous passions

tumultuously adverb

tumultuousness noun

Synonyms

• turbulent

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.

Recent Examples on the Web

In seven tumultuous months, nearly every aspect of its operations has been reshaped to facilitate and enable his agenda. —Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 18 Aug. 2025

The firing came amid a tumultuous run for the team, which saw the squad drop to League One, the third tier of English football, amid a handful of coaching changes. —Sean Neumann, People.com, 14 Aug. 2025

From Losses To Gains The Sunshine State is still in the process of recovering from a tumultuous time for its home insurance sector, as premiums skyrocketed over the past five years while carriers went bankrupt or cut coverage across the state to avoid rising costs. —Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Aug. 2025

Employment numbers in the tech sector effectively stagnated in July, as the industry remained stable amid a tumultuous job market—but a decline in postings could herald trouble ahead. —Eoin Higgins, Fortune, 13 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

see tumult

First Known Use

circa 1548, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids 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