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 weather in Wales was terrible, with snow and freezing temperatures and Arctic gales.
—
Christine Smallwood, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026
Out in the ferocious gales of the North Sea, on the overcrowded routes of the Irish Sea and the English Channel, and off to the islands’ west, the wide Atlantic herself.
—Literary Hub, 19 Nov. 2025
Such physical effects of wind are translatable; and so, most important of all, are the quarters from which the blasts or the breezes or the gales appear to come.
—Big Think, 18 Nov. 2025
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
Christine Smallwood, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026
Out in the ferocious gales of the North Sea, on the overcrowded routes of the Irish Sea and the English Channel, and off to the islands’ west, the wide Atlantic herself.
—Literary Hub, 19 Nov. 2025
Such physical effects of wind are translatable; and so, most important of all, are the quarters from which the blasts or the breezes or the gales appear to come.
—Big Think, 18 Nov. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gales
Noun
-
The American Beauty rose is a climbing rose that adds bursts of color to your fence.—
Claudia Guthrie,
The Spruce,
9 Apr. 2026
-
The first of these—a cult favorite among writers, particularly youngish women writers—put Lemann on the map as a singular stylist, capable of crystalline insights into the miscreants and oddballs of the American South and great bursts of unrestrained sentiment.—
Brandy Jensen,
New Yorker,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
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In California, with its history of wildfires often caused by arson or negligence, prosecutors have not shied away from filing criminal charges, including murder, against people suspected of starting blazes or explosions, Taylor said.—
Sharon Bernstein,
Sacbee.com,
11 Apr. 2026
-
If such rockets could be launched at sea, then explosions would be less of an issue for neighbouring population centers.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Augusta National can still take a bite out of anyone with enough swirling gusts to bring indecision, or bad shots that wind up in the wrong spot.—
Doug Ferguson,
Chicago Tribune,
9 Apr. 2026
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Milton made landfall in the Tampa area as a Category 3, and passed south of Orlando, with peak gusts of 87 mph at Orlando International Airport.—
Ryan Gillespie,
The Orlando Sentinel,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The rapper, who now goes by Ye, faces a potential ban in the country amid ongoing backlash over his past antisemitic outbursts.—
Charisma Madarang,
Rolling Stone,
15 Apr. 2026
-
The new secretary takes up his post at a time when traditional diplomacy often takes a back seat to Trump’s off-the cuff comments and social media outbursts.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Across the jagged volcanic landscape of spontaneous eruptions and tumbling detritus, a space of relative calm will invariably open up.—
Philip Sherburne,
Pitchfork,
13 Apr. 2026
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Geomagnetic storms, on the other hand, are caused by the impact of rapid streams of plasma on Earth's magnetic field, most dramatic during violent eruptions of plasma (coronal mass ejections) from the sun.—
Ryan French,
Space.com,
13 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Crow-Armstrong, who’s shown flashes of being one of the sport’s most electrifying players, has one home run through 59 plate appearances.—
Patrick Mooney,
New York Times,
12 Apr. 2026
-
The crew experienced a solar eclipse, including 54 minutes of totality where the sun’s light was blocked by Earth, spied planets, photographed the Milky Way and even witnessed flashes of light as space rocks slammed into the moon.—
Jackie Wattles,
CNN Money,
11 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The reason for the storms today is due to a boundary and the jet stream parked right on top of us.—
Ron Smiley,
CBS News,
15 Apr. 2026
-
America’s aging power system is strained by more extreme storms and now electricity demand growth that is poised to expand at an unprecedented clip.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
14 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Gales.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gales. Accessed 17 Apr. 2026.
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