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
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
Winter gales and ice were a constant threat.
—Marianne Mather, Chicago Tribune, 19 Dec. 2024
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
Winter gales and ice were a constant threat.
—Marianne Mather, Chicago Tribune, 19 Dec. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gales
Noun
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After testing the interest of sports fans in short-form content, Disney aims to bring brief bursts to a broader audience.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
7 Jan. 2026
-
Operating for thousands of daily cycles over decades trumps quick bursts of power.—
Tejasri Gururaj,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
While Russian defense officials did not say where the Oreshnik hit this time, Ukrainian authorities on Friday reported several explosions and a ballistic missile strike in the western city of Lviv.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
9 Jan. 2026
-
Test explosions became increasingly rare.—
Chicago Tribune,
Twin Cities,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Sustained, strong winds with even stronger gusts are happening.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
11 Jan. 2026
-
Winds turn gusty behind the front, with northwest gusts up to 25 to 35 mph Sunday evening and overnight.—
Andrew Kozak,
CBS News,
11 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Police were called twice to the home to respond to apparent angry outbursts from Bushey, once after the knives were removed, and once after the locks were changed, which reportedly led Bushey to break off a doorknob in order to enter the house.—
City News Service,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
12 Jan. 2026
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As 6-7 went viral, teachers complained that random outbursts by their students were interrupting their lessons.—
Rebekah Willett,
Fortune,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The world often failed to use those political eruptions to actually improve the lot of the people in those countries.—
Jay Reddick,
The Orlando Sentinel,
7 Jan. 2026
-
On top of that, cosmic rays and the Sun's own eruptions can upset electronics.—
Leonard David,
Space.com,
4 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Tracy’s script skewers the hollow moral language of powerful corporate elites like Stone’s character, while also probing the anger and alienation driving Teddy and Don, treating their bonkers beliefs with both satire and unsettling flashes of emotional truth.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Jan. 2026
-
Those flickers or flashes were used to show intrusive thoughts or moments of wonder.—
Destiny Jackson,
Deadline,
13 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said that more than 2,400 potholes have been repaired across the city in the week following a series of powerful winter storms that doused the region with rain over the Christmas and New Year's holidays.—
Dean Fioresi,
CBS News,
11 Jan. 2026
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There’s roughly two and a half months left of the winter season, which means that there are plenty of chilly evenings, snow storms, and freeze warnings to look forward to.—
Amelia McBride,
Travel + Leisure,
11 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Gales.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gales. Accessed 15 Jan. 2026.
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