tumult

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noun

Definition of TUMULT

1

a state of noisy, confused activity <in the tumult of the evacuation from the coast, we accidentally left on the television, which was of course tuned to the local newscast breathlessly reporting on the hurricane we were fleeing>

Synonyms ado, alarums and excursions, ballyhoo, blather, bluster, bobbery, bother, bustle, clatter, clutter [chiefly dialect], coil, corroboree [Australian], disturbance, do [chiefly dialect], foofaraw, fun, furor, furore, fuss, helter-skelter, hoo-ha (also hoo-hah), hoopla, hubble-bubble, hubbub, hullabaloo, hurly, hurly-burly, hurricane, hurry, hurry-scurry (or hurry-skurry), kerfuffle [chiefly British], moil, pandemonium, pother, row, ruckus, ruction, rumpus, shindy, splore [Scottish], squall, stew, stir, storm, to-do, tumult, turmoil, uproar, welter, whirl, williwaw, zoo

Related Words cacophony, clamor, din, howl, hue and cry, noise, outcry, racket, roar; disorder, unrest, upheaval; eruption, flare-up, flurry, flutter, outbreak, outburst; brawl, fracas, fray, hassle, melee (also mêlée), scuffle; dither, fever, fret, lather, tizzy

Near Antonyms calm, hush, peace, quiet, quietude, rest, stillness, tranquillity (or tranquility); order, orderliness

2

a violent disturbance (as of the political or social order) <the political tumult that swept the American colonies in the late 1700s>

Synonyms bouleversement, cataclysm, earthquake, paroxysm, storm, tempest, tumult, upheaval, uproar

Related Words insurgency, insurrection, mutiny, overthrow, overturn, rebellion, revolt, revolution, subversion, unrest, uprising, upset; fit, seizure, spasm; eruption, flare-up, outbreak, outburst; bluster, bobbery, bustle, coil, commotion, furor, furore, fuss, hubbub, hullabaloo, hurly-burly, pandemonium, rout, row, ruckus, ruction, rumpus, shindy, squall, stew, stir, to-do, turmoil, welter, williwaw; quaking, rocking, shaking, trembling

3

a violent shouting <went to the window to see what the great tumult was and discovered a crowd of demonstrators marching down the street>

Synonyms howl, hubbub, hue and cry, hullabaloo, noise, outcry, roar, tumult, uproar, vociferation

Related Words clangor, din, jangle, racket; cri de coeur, outburst, protest

Near Antonyms mumble, mumbling, murmur, murmuring, rumble, rumbling