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
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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, 10 Apr. 2026
The deep seismometers will be particularly good at recording long-period seismic waves created by large earthquakes (about magnitude 7 or greater).
—Vanessa Bates Ramirez, Scientific American, 9 Apr. 2026
But according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, even though 90% of the country’s earthquakes are in California, only 10% of the state’s residents have earthquake insurance.
—Ethan Varian, Mercury News, 8 Apr. 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
Ca Earthquake Bot, Sacbee.com, 10 Apr. 2026
The deep seismometers will be particularly good at recording long-period seismic waves created by large earthquakes (about magnitude 7 or greater).
—Vanessa Bates Ramirez, Scientific American, 9 Apr. 2026
But according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, even though 90% of the country’s earthquakes are in California, only 10% of the state’s residents have earthquake insurance.
—Ethan Varian, Mercury News, 8 Apr. 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for earthquakes
Noun
-
Afghanistan lies in a highly seismically active part of the world, and quakes have caused thousands of deaths in recent years.—
Elena Becatoros,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Apr. 2026
-
And even in their weight these buildings are even, equal configurations in their overall size and width, with pillars that were built for the floods or for the quakes.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Right now, marketers are still trying to get a read on how economic conditions may shake out, and there won’t be much clarity in the ad market until budgets are registered—a process that itself will be complicated by the ongoing geopolitical upheavals.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
3 Apr. 2026
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During the major social upheavals of 2011 and 2019, students adopted a confrontational stance against the political and business elite to demand systemic reforms.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
It was started by a Philadelphia patient who no longer has Parkinson's tremors.—
Stephanie Stahl,
CBS News,
6 Apr. 2026
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The 41 countries represented came from all continents except Antarctica, a reflection of the global tremors from a war that has sparked shortages of fuel and fertilizer and higher prices for food far beyond the Middle East.—
Jill Lawless,
Los Angeles Times,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Authoritarianism, rule by force and revolutions with bloodshed are the norms.—
Stephen Mitchell,
Baltimore Sun,
2 Apr. 2026
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The Cost of Waiting What makes this moment structurally different from past technology revolutions is the combination of AI’s extreme capital intensity and its inverted labor disruption.—
Ravi Kumar S,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Earthquakes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/earthquakes. Accessed 12 Apr. 2026.
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