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 incident has upended an already tumultuous presidential race in which Biden was facing calls from other Democrats to pull out following a stumbling debate performance.
—Tyler Pager, Washington Post, 14 July 2024
His unspecified illness extends a sporadically tumultuous past few weeks for Wallen.
—Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 12 July 2024
Despite a tumultuous Paramount-Skydance merger, some box office blunders and a painful presidential debate, the summer of 2024 may go down as the summer of Paul Walter Hauser.
—Jack Dunn, Variety, 12 July 2024
Their tumultuous relationship came to an end on April 3, 2022, when Courtney placed a frantic call to police reporting that her boyfriend had been stabbed.
—David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 11 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for tumultuous 
Tyler Pager, Washington Post, 14 July 2024
His unspecified illness extends a sporadically tumultuous past few weeks for Wallen.
—Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 12 July 2024
Despite a tumultuous Paramount-Skydance merger, some box office blunders and a painful presidential debate, the summer of 2024 may go down as the summer of Paul Walter Hauser.
—Jack Dunn, Variety, 12 July 2024
Their tumultuous relationship came to an end on April 3, 2022, when Courtney placed a frantic call to police reporting that her boyfriend had been stabbed.
—David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 11 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for tumultuous
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tumultuous.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near tumultuous
Cite this Entry
“Tumultuous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tumultuous. Accessed 26 Jul. 2024.
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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