1
as in flurry
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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in revolt
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 outbreak
According to the county Department of Public Health, cases have been reported countywide, but localized outbreaks were confirmed in the Los Angeles Central City area, Santa Monica and Willowbrook.
—
City News Service, Daily News, 3 Apr. 2026
The outbreak of nine people reporting illnesses occurred in California, Florida and Texas, per the CDC.
—Chiara Kim, PEOPLE, 3 Apr. 2026
Society benefits because infectious disease outbreaks are less likely to occur when individuals are vaccinated.
—Laura Payne, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026
Health Minister Roger Kamba told journalists that the government had made the determination that the outbreak was over and no longer a national emergency.
—ABC News, 2 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for outbreak
City News Service, Daily News, 3 Apr. 2026
The outbreak of nine people reporting illnesses occurred in California, Florida and Texas, per the CDC.
—Chiara Kim, PEOPLE, 3 Apr. 2026
Society benefits because infectious disease outbreaks are less likely to occur when individuals are vaccinated.
—Laura Payne, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026
Health Minister Roger Kamba told journalists that the government had made the determination that the outbreak was over and no longer a national emergency.
—ABC News, 2 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for outbreak
Recent Examples of Synonyms for outbreak
Noun
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Pritchard dissected Milwaukee’s defense at all three levels during that flurry, converting two layups, two 3-pointers and one nine-foot fadeaway.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
4 Apr. 2026
-
Blanche’s statement comes amid a flurry of speculation that Epstein worked for the CIA or another intelligence agency.—
Emily Hallas,
The Washington Examiner,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The Testaments The Testaments picks up 15 years after The Handmaid’s Tale’s June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss) led Boston in a successful revolt against Gilead.—
Rebecca Aizin,
PEOPLE,
10 Apr. 2026
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The difference, according to him, is that, unlike Lenin’s Communist revolution, the right-wing revolt will empower people who are good.—
Jonathan Chait,
The Atlantic,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Each pea is a miraculous burst of freshness that can stand up to assertive flavors.—
Nina Moskowitz,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
5 Apr. 2026
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By using bursts of infrared light—rather than microwaves—from a laser to encode data, these systems can move far more information than traditional systems and can often do so with a smaller and lighter device.—
Adam Bluestein,
Scientific American,
5 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
There were rebellions, insurrections and an Appian Way lined with crucifixions.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Mar. 2026
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Meanwhile, a separate insurrection led by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, a Marxist political party, tore through the southern part of the country in the late 1980s, killing tens of thousands of people.—
Eranda Jayawickreme,
The Conversation,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
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In real life, Natalie is detached from her children and disdainful of her spouse, prone to violent outbursts as the farm spins out of her control.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Apr. 2026
-
Geekie had only one goal in the previous 20 games, but his scoring outburst on Tuesday pushed his season total to a career-best 37.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
7 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The fears of robot uprising, from his perspective, are essentially the fears of slave revolt, of the working class seizing the means of production.—
Deni Ellis Béchard,
Scientific American,
8 Apr. 2026
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Many Iranians are angry at their leaders, but there has been no sign of an uprising since authorities crushed mass protests in January, before the war.—
Jon Gambrell,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The ur-mutiny, encompassing some of these, provoking and provoked by others, is MAGA.—
George Packer,
The Atlantic,
16 Mar. 2026
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That mobility occasionally allowed for communication and coordination during mutinies.—
Ed Gaskin,
Boston Herald,
8 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The memoirs are valued above all for their candor, though Jahangir chose to avoid writing about his earlier rebellion against his father, Akbar.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
9 Apr. 2026
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Many of the stories in the book are tragic Icarus narratives, featuring acts of rebellion that succeed in one brief ecstatic burst, and then resoundingly fail.—
Kyle Chayka,
New Yorker,
8 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Outbreak.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/outbreak. Accessed 11 Apr. 2026.
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