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
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
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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Even the vets warned that such bursts of energy sometimes signal a final surge before decline, but Luna proved them wrong.—
Ashley Vega,
PEOPLE,
21 Oct. 2025
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Beyond this, annual flowers such as petunias, marigolds, and zinnias can be used to add bursts of color throughout your beds and borders.—
William Jones,
USA Today,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
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For the rest of the nineteenth century and into the twentieth century, magnetic storms, triggered by colossal solar explosions, repeatedly disrupted those networks.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Oct. 2025
-
While tectonic activity is the leading cause, earthquakes can also result from volcanic eruptions, underground explosions, and human activities like mining or large-scale construction.—
Amanda Castro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Oct. 2025
Noun
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And the autumn Paris weather played nice — just a few gusts knocking down some lamps and a few showers prompting umbrellas to save our gear!—
Greg Palkot,
FOXNews.com,
24 Oct. 2025
-
Sierra ridge gusts up to 100 mph.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Davidson’s condition, which leads him to make foul-mouthed outbursts, was barely understood at the time and was the source of misunderstandings, bullying, and harassment.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
24 Oct. 2025
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Giudice’s mother famously flipped a table at a restaurant in season one of and was known for her outbursts.—
Jenni Fink,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
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While tectonic activity is the leading cause, earthquakes can also result from volcanic eruptions, underground explosions, and human activities like mining or large-scale construction.—
Amanda Castro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Oct. 2025
-
To prepare for the inevitable, ESA is expanding its monitoring network and preparing for the 2031 Vigil mission — a new spacecraft that will sit at the sun-Earth L5 point to give earlier warnings of incoming solar eruptions.—
Samantha Mathewson,
Space.com,
26 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Las Vegas has shown flashes of brilliance in its five losses, but the team has not looked like the playoff-caliber squad that was expected with Caroll and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly being brought in.—
James Brizuela,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Oct. 2025
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Sure, there were flashes of streetwear embroidered with palm trees.—
Manal Albarakati,
semafor.com,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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To better understand how these storms can wreak so much havoc, our research team created simulations to show how storms interact with Earth’s natural magnetic shield and trigger the dangerous geomagnetic activity that can shut down electric grids.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
24 Oct. 2025
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The storms brought by atmospheric rivers are known for their heavy snow, heavy rain and strong winds.—
Anna Skinner,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Gales.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gales. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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