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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The new discovery completely alters our understanding of gamma ray bursts, which were once thought to be caused only by black holes.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
1 Oct. 2025
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With surreal flourishes and bursts of absurdity, filmmaker Milagros Mumenthaler casts a beguiling, dreamlike spell that delicately examines motherhood, class and identity.—
Christian Blauvelt,
IndieWire,
30 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Attack largest of war on Lviv, Governor says A Reuters correspondent heard explosions booming across the dark morning sky as air defenses engaged targets from several directions.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
5 Oct. 2025
-
Jump cuts punctuated by the sound of explosions move us incrementally downstream, ultimately out and over the Pacific Ocean.—
Anne Reeve,
Artforum,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Sustained, strong winds with even stronger gusts are happening.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Winds have decreased to 5 mph or less, but are expected to increase again throughout the day, reaching 15 to 20 mph out of the west-southwest, with gusts up to 25 mph possible.—
Hanna Park,
CNN Money,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The authors produced models for a scenario in which methane is released in plume-like outbursts.—
Andrew Jones,
Space.com,
28 Sep. 2025
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Macmillan has a musician's kind of knack for sculpting outbursts, rants and other verbal arias.—
Jim Higgins,
jsonline.com,
24 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Some over-the-top emergencies have included earthquakes, mudslides, tsunamis, train collisions releasing toxic fumes into the air, volcano eruptions, even a bizarre porta potty rescue.—
Bryan West,
Nashville Tennessean,
7 Oct. 2025
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These spirals of solar wind can lead to large solar eruptions that can affect astronauts in orbit and key technological infrastructure on Earth.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Having spent large chunks of the past year digging out from under an avalanche of derision, Stevenson has also tasted the spoils of success with the Bears, a two-time NFC Defensive Player of the Week honoree who, in the past two games, has shown flashes of what his best football looks like.—
Dan Wiederer,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
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Though the album’s genres are superficially diverse—you’ll hear flashes of grunge, trap, and, yes, reggae—its arrangements could work fine as royalty-free background music for content creators.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The organization focuses on the big disasters that often grip the headlines, such as wildfires, floods, and hurricanes – but also offers information about preparing for winter storms, tsunamis, tornados, lightning, hail and extreme heat.—
Andrea Riquier,
USA Today,
3 Oct. 2025
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With a constellation of eyes in the sky, forecasters could suddenly monitor conditions over oceans and remote landmasses, filling in major gaps in their models and providing an early warning system about potential storms forming far away.—
Beatrice Nolan,
Fortune,
3 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Gales.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gales. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
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