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
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 hope is that Daboll adds some stability and cultivates a better environment for the young quarterback than Ward had in a tumultuous rookie season that saw his first head coach (Brian Callahan) fired early in the season.
—Zack Rosenblatt, New York Times, 31 Jan. 2026
The first is a documentary that chronicles the tumultuous, year-long construction of Disneyland; the other serves as the ideal pre-game option to Rachel McAdams’ latest flight-from-hell flick.
—Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles Times, 30 Jan. 2026
The Reader went nonprofit in 2022 under then-publisher Tracy Baim in a tumultuous process that pitted Goodman against Higginbottom before picketing employees helped push it over the finish line.
—Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 30 Jan. 2026
During the tumultuous period that preceded the Civil War, the United States passed a series of bills that came to be collectively known as the Compromise of 1850.
—Jelani Cobb, New Yorker, 30 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tumultuous
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Zack Rosenblatt, New York Times, 31 Jan. 2026
The first is a documentary that chronicles the tumultuous, year-long construction of Disneyland; the other serves as the ideal pre-game option to Rachel McAdams’ latest flight-from-hell flick.
—Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles Times, 30 Jan. 2026
The Reader went nonprofit in 2022 under then-publisher Tracy Baim in a tumultuous process that pitted Goodman against Higginbottom before picketing employees helped push it over the finish line.
—Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 30 Jan. 2026
During the tumultuous period that preceded the Civil War, the United States passed a series of bills that came to be collectively known as the Compromise of 1850.
—Jelani Cobb, New Yorker, 30 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tumultuous
Cite this Entry
“Tumultuous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tumultuous. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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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