1
as in quakes
a shaking of the earth
the San Andreas Fault is notorious for its earthquakes
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in upheavals
a violent disturbance (as of the political or social order)
the election of the socialist candidate caused a political earthquake that nearly led to a military coup
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of earthquakes
It is estimated that there are 500,000 detectable earthquakes in the world each year.
—
Ca Earthquake Bot, Sacbee.com, 28 Mar. 2026
Hot on the Trail For decades, scientists have used earthquakes to track magma, but the work was often slow and imprecise.
—Quanta Magazine, 27 Mar. 2026
Those arches are long gone, collapsing over the centuries from earthquakes and unstable ground.
—ABC News, 17 Mar. 2026
The Arabian and Eurasian plates continue to move toward each other at around 20 millimeters a year, sometimes triggering deadly earthquakes.
—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 6 Mar. 2026
There's no obvious evidence that earthquakes triggered the Colombian explosion, Manga said.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 27 Feb. 2026
Ca Earthquake Bot, Sacbee.com, 28 Mar. 2026
Hot on the Trail For decades, scientists have used earthquakes to track magma, but the work was often slow and imprecise.
—Quanta Magazine, 27 Mar. 2026
Those arches are long gone, collapsing over the centuries from earthquakes and unstable ground.
—ABC News, 17 Mar. 2026
The Arabian and Eurasian plates continue to move toward each other at around 20 millimeters a year, sometimes triggering deadly earthquakes.
—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 6 Mar. 2026
There's no obvious evidence that earthquakes triggered the Colombian explosion, Manga said.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 27 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for earthquakes
Noun
-
Seismic activity in the area is limited, but USGS data show similar quakes have occurred within 5 to 10 miles over time.—
Daniel Lempres,
Sacbee.com,
25 Mar. 2026
-
Those Apollo-era seismometers revealed that the moon is surprisingly active, recording thousands of quakes between 1969 and 1977 — but the tools were heavy, expensive and limited in reach.—
Samantha Mathewson,
Space.com,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Over the course of the twentieth century, with its endless economic and political upheavals, the numbers of both people and reindeer in the camp have dwindled.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
25 Mar. 2026
-
Epic survived upheavals in 1990’s with the move from 2D to 3D with Unreal 1; in the 2000’s building console games with Gears of War; and in 2012 moving to online gaming with Paragon and Fortnite.—
Dade Hayes,
Deadline,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
By the time symptoms first appear, the majority of these cells are lost forever, meaning the disease can progress for years before any of the telltale physical symptoms emerge—tremors, stiffness and slowness of movement, among others.—
Todd Weissman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Mar. 2026
-
Until recently, scientists could only manually read through graphs of seismic recordings to pick out tremors, then use the data to trace the movements of magma that caused them.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
As is true of many revolutions in flowering plants, some seagrass lineages doubled then edited entire genomes.—
David George Haskell,
Big Think,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Beginning with folk roots, and inspired by Bob Dylan going electric, the Grateful Dead continually adapted and evolved and became indelibly linked with both of the revolutions which began in San Francisco in the post-WW2 period.—
Mike Hanlon
March 22,
New Atlas,
22 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Earthquakes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/earthquakes. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
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