as in bursts
a sudden intense expression of strong feeling
the audience responded to the comedian's joke with gales of laughter
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Recent Examples of gales
Fifty years ago this month, the gales of November swallowed the SS Edmund Fitzgerald along with her crew of 29 men, one of the largest ships to go down on Lake Superior and the Great Lakes.
—
Sarah Moore, Freep.com, 4 Nov. 2025
The threat of thunderstorms, gales, and violent lightning led to the cancellation of the final day of SailGP competition in Saint-Tropez.
—Andrew Rice, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2025
Southern China also shuts down Southern China’s Hainan Island saw heavy rainfall and gales as the typhoon brushed past the island on Sunday.
—Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 25 Aug. 2025
Strong winds were also a concern in areas where residents are accustomed to heavy rain, but not necessarily cyclone-strength gales.
—Hilary Whiteman, CNN, 4 Mar. 2025
The front will have strong north to northeast winds behind it and prompt development of gales offshore of Tampico, Mexico through early Friday morning creating peak seas with 12- to 14-foot waves.
—Richard Tribou, Orlando Sentinel, 13 Feb. 2025
Winter gales and ice were a constant threat.
—Marianne Mather, Chicago Tribune, 19 Dec. 2024
Nuclear power plants have increasingly been seen as a carbon pollution-free source of electricity that can fill in for solar and wind farms when the sun sets and gales weaken.
—Justine Calma, The Verge, 4 Dec. 2024
Slowly the mystical land enters her inner world and – one day at a time – Rona finds hope and strength in herself among the heavy gales and the bracingly cold sea.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 4 Oct. 2024
Sarah Moore, Freep.com, 4 Nov. 2025
The threat of thunderstorms, gales, and violent lightning led to the cancellation of the final day of SailGP competition in Saint-Tropez.
—Andrew Rice, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2025
Southern China also shuts down Southern China’s Hainan Island saw heavy rainfall and gales as the typhoon brushed past the island on Sunday.
—Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 25 Aug. 2025
Strong winds were also a concern in areas where residents are accustomed to heavy rain, but not necessarily cyclone-strength gales.
—Hilary Whiteman, CNN, 4 Mar. 2025
The front will have strong north to northeast winds behind it and prompt development of gales offshore of Tampico, Mexico through early Friday morning creating peak seas with 12- to 14-foot waves.
—Richard Tribou, Orlando Sentinel, 13 Feb. 2025
Winter gales and ice were a constant threat.
—Marianne Mather, Chicago Tribune, 19 Dec. 2024
Nuclear power plants have increasingly been seen as a carbon pollution-free source of electricity that can fill in for solar and wind farms when the sun sets and gales weaken.
—Justine Calma, The Verge, 4 Dec. 2024
Slowly the mystical land enters her inner world and – one day at a time – Rona finds hope and strength in herself among the heavy gales and the bracingly cold sea.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 4 Oct. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gales
Noun
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Fortunately, Marty, posing as a federal agent here to arrest Lee for harassment, bursts through the One Well doors in the nick of time.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
5 Nov. 2025
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These collisions unleash bursts of energy, allowing physicists to explore the most fundamental building blocks of the universe.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The children grow before the camera’s eye, taking their first steps and speaking their first words to the backdrop of explosions—moving from tent to tent, clinging to life, and longing for their mother’s embrace.—
Leo Barraclough,
Variety,
10 Nov. 2025
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For soldiers caught in explosions, survival often comes at a steep physical cost.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Residents can look for wind gusts of up to 40 mph.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
8 Nov. 2025
-
West northwest wind 9 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.—
John Tufts,
IndyStar,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
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These outbursts send radiation and charged particles hurling into space and can disrupt communications on Earth if the flare erupts from an Earth-facing sunspot.—
Daisy Dobrijevic,
Space.com,
5 Nov. 2025
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Musk, whose partisan outbursts reportedly cost Tesla one million sales, remains the world’s wealthiest person, and could become the first-ever trillionaire.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
30 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Several eruptions of energy from the sun, known as coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, are expected to reach Earth’s magnetic field over the next two nights.—
Briana Waxman,
CNN Money,
12 Nov. 2025
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Hazards from eruptions at Kilauea include high levels of volcanic gas, ash, pumice, scoria and reticulite and Pele's hair -- strands of volcanic glass produced by lava fountaining that can be carried more than 10 miles from the vent, according to the USGS.—
Julia Jacobo,
ABC News,
10 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Head coach Kalen DeBoer said the offense has shown flashes but needs better timing to fully capitalize.—
Grant Afseth,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Nov. 2025
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Goodwin, signed late in the season from Australia, showed flashes in his brief playoff action.—
Colin Cerniglia,
Charlotte Observer,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
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But some experts warn that what’s happening in Hatteras could be a glimpse of what’s to come in other coastal areas as climate change fuels more powerful storms and hastens erosion.—
Samantha Delouya,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
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Most of these stronger storms will be east of I-65 across south central Kentucky.—
Katie Wiseman,
Louisville Courier Journal,
7 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Gales.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gales. Accessed 22 Nov. 2025.
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