1
as in flurries
a sudden and usually temporary growth of activity
there was an immediate outbreak of paper shuffling and a pretense of work when the supervisor passed through the room
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in insurrections
open fighting against authority (as one's own government)
the government quelled the outbreak with ruthless efficiency
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of outbreaks
This has been clearly linked to outbreaks in nursing homes and hospitals.
—
Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 8 Jan. 2026
Severe weather—from a derecho that hit the Northeast in April to a string of tornado outbreaks in the spring and summer—made up 91% of the billion-dollar disasters.
—Simmone Shah, Time, 8 Jan. 2026
Severe weather events, including severe thunderstorms and tornado outbreaks, accounted for 91% of all billion-dollar disasters last year, the analysis showed.
—Matthew Glasser, ABC News, 8 Jan. 2026
As measles outbreaks flared up across the US last year, causing a record number of cases, Scott Thorpe kept a wary eye on Spartanburg County, South Carolina.
—Deidre McPhillips, CNN Money, 8 Jan. 2026
In 2026, Oropouche outbreaks will likely continue to affect travelers in the Americas.
—Patrick Jackson, The Conversation, 7 Jan. 2026
In 2016 the entire region of the Americas declared the disease eliminated, but outbreaks in Venezuela in 2017 and in Brazil in 2018 reversed that declaration.
—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 3 Nov. 2025
Aid organizations and the United Nations warned that the disaster could worsen hunger and trigger disease outbreaks in a country already gripped by civil war and among the most difficult places in the world for humanitarian efforts.
—Ron Estes, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2025
Studies of past measles outbreaks in Amish communities indicate this wave of new cases could last many months or a year.
—Alix Martichoux, The Hill, 30 Mar. 2025
Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 8 Jan. 2026
Severe weather—from a derecho that hit the Northeast in April to a string of tornado outbreaks in the spring and summer—made up 91% of the billion-dollar disasters.
—Simmone Shah, Time, 8 Jan. 2026
Severe weather events, including severe thunderstorms and tornado outbreaks, accounted for 91% of all billion-dollar disasters last year, the analysis showed.
—Matthew Glasser, ABC News, 8 Jan. 2026
As measles outbreaks flared up across the US last year, causing a record number of cases, Scott Thorpe kept a wary eye on Spartanburg County, South Carolina.
—Deidre McPhillips, CNN Money, 8 Jan. 2026
In 2026, Oropouche outbreaks will likely continue to affect travelers in the Americas.
—Patrick Jackson, The Conversation, 7 Jan. 2026
In 2016 the entire region of the Americas declared the disease eliminated, but outbreaks in Venezuela in 2017 and in Brazil in 2018 reversed that declaration.
—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 3 Nov. 2025
Aid organizations and the United Nations warned that the disaster could worsen hunger and trigger disease outbreaks in a country already gripped by civil war and among the most difficult places in the world for humanitarian efforts.
—Ron Estes, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2025
Studies of past measles outbreaks in Amish communities indicate this wave of new cases could last many months or a year.
—Alix Martichoux, The Hill, 30 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for outbreaks
Noun
-
There will be a couple of flurries in the morning, but otherwise times of clouds and sun.—
Leah Olajide,
Freep.com,
15 Jan. 2026
-
Those 2008 flurries are one of only 5 times throughout the weather record that the first snow didn’t arrive until March.—
Julia James,
Dallas Morning News,
15 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Wars and insurrections have afflicted other parts of the Middle East, but Baghdad—a city whose name was once synonymous with suicide bombings and sectarian murder—has been spared.—
Robert F. Worth,
The Atlantic,
28 Oct. 2025
-
The president can also legally invoke the military under the Insurrection Act, which allows troops to be deployed in order to curb insurrections.—
Alison Durkee,
Forbes.com,
11 Aug. 2025
Noun
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In stronger bursts, faint glows may also appear low on the northern horizon in far northern parts of Wyoming, New York, Vermont and New Hampshire.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
15 Jan. 2026
-
Little bursts of dub delay flare without warning, kicking up dust devils; every now and then, the telltale sweep of the pitch-bend wheel flicks upward like a fast-rising tide and then, after a minute or two, falls back into place.—
Philip Sherburne,
Pitchfork,
14 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The society’s equilibrium has been profoundly disrupted and can easily tip into escalating popular revolts and open elite resistance, producing a revolution.—
Karim Sadjadpour,
The Atlantic,
10 Jan. 2026
-
The result was that, where earlier fiscal crises had been met by waves of municipal-level revolts against mainstream economic policies, New York witnessed no such revolts in the 1970s.—
Daniel Wortel-London,
Washington Post,
5 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
In September 2025 the mission captured particularly extraordinary footage of three separate outbursts in just five hours.—
Meghan Bartels,
Scientific American,
21 Jan. 2026
-
In the present day, Muck crashes his dinner party with lewd outbursts and runs off with an old friend (Jack Farthing), who is later revealed to be a mirage of his late father.—
Natalie Oganesyan,
Deadline,
18 Jan. 2026
Noun
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On what makes current protests different Pahlavi also spoke about how the current protests, which were sparked last month by the collapse of the country's currency, are different from past uprisings.—
Caitlin Yilek,
CBS News,
12 Jan. 2026
-
Middle East efforts In Bulgaria, Mladenov held the position of defense minister for a year, before serving as foreign minister from 2010-13, during the uprisings in the Middle East known as the Arab Spring when Syria also descended into civil war.—
Veselin Toshkov,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Worth about $5 million, the Chew Valley Hoard is believed to have been hidden for safekeeping nearly 1,000 years ago, as Saxon rebellions against William the Conqueror roiled England; just under half of the 2,584 coins feature the last Anglo-Saxon king Harold II.—
Brendan Ruberry,
semafor.com,
3 Dec. 2025
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While the sicko elites bask in the violence, Kawaji sees the Kodoku as a means of exterminating the remaining samurai, who have staged multiple rebellions against the Japanese empire.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
14 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
This includes leader assassination attempts by political opponents or lone wolves or mutinies by disgruntled soldiers who might even march on the presidential palace to demand higher pay, promotions or other policy concessions.—
John Joseph Chin,
The Conversation,
16 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Outbreaks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/outbreaks. Accessed 23 Jan. 2026.
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