outbreak

noun

ˈau̇t-ˌbrāk How to pronounce outbreak (audio)
Definition of outbreaknext
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in revolt
open fighting against authority (as one's own government) the government quelled the outbreak with ruthless efficiency

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of outbreak In South Carolina, which was dealing with an outbreak earlier this year, there have been at least 997 measles cases in 2026, according to the South Carolina Department of Public Health. — Chandelis Duster, NPR, 25 Oct. 2026 The closures came as protesters gathered across France on Saturday, with police rerouting Paris' main demonstration away from the city center to prevent another outbreak of violence. — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2026 While there is public concern about the spread of the illness, there has not yet been a major outbreak. — Devika Rao, TheWeek, 23 Oct. 2026 Instead of trying to stop the outbreak and prevent it from spilling into humans, state and federal officials have done little except try to keep its existence quiet, our investigation shows. — Nat Lash, ProPublica, 23 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for outbreak
Recent Examples of Synonyms for outbreak
  1. flurry
  2. revolt
  3. burst
  4. insurrection
  5. outburst
  6. uprising
  7. mutiny
  8. rebellion
Noun
  • The interview in The Bookman had inaugurated what turned into a flurry of correspondence with his old clerk in the spring of 1892.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Despite a flurry of beauty M&A activity in 2025 — a record 384 deals globally, to be specific — average deal value is on the decline.
    — Noor Lobad, Footwear News, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of flurry
Noun
  • That might have caused something of a revolt among American NFL fans wanting to drive down the road to their local team's stadium and enjoy America's game – in America.
    — Armando Salguero OutKick, FOXNews.com, 25 Oct. 2026
  • The combination of slow growth, high inflation, profligate spending, and soaring debt has stirred a revolt in financial markets.
    — Jason Ma, Fortune, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of revolt
Noun
  • Berg, working with DP Jacques Jouffret, favors close shots that force us to experience battle much like our heroes do, as confusing, terrifying bursts of mayhem.
    — Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The heaviness comes from the fact that the artist died in April, at age forty-six, but it’s also embedded in the paintings on view—in the bursts of fire and swirling floods that mark them.
    — Dan Stahl, New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of burst
Noun
  • The insurrection drew immediate and obvious parallels to the United States, which, during much of the past decade, has lurched alongside Brazil through a strange hall of mirrors.
    — Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Beyond calling and readying Americans for a fight against the insurrection, Lincoln also outlined the meaning and memory of the conflict about to commence.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of insurrection
Noun
  • Rushing went through a learning curve juggling his defensive and offensive responsibilities, and navigating intense online scrutiny of his outbursts on the field and in the dugout.
    — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2026
  • From harassing Brady over his divorce from Gisele Bündchen on social media to trying to be a rapper and much more, Brown’s post-football life has been one filled with public outbursts and controversial statements and stunts.
    — Scott Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of outburst
Noun
  • Just weeks after the experiment ended, a prison uprising at Attica Correctional Facility in New York was thwarted with deadly force, resulting in 43 deaths.
    — Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 21 Oct. 2026
  • France's post-revolution history is not a solid story of protests and reforms, but of cycles of popular uprisings, repression, mobilization and political concessions.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of uprising
Noun
  • Its leader, Sergei Mironov, 73, once gained headlines by posing with a symbol of brutality — a sledgehammer given to him by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the late Wagner mercenary leader shortly before his failed 2023 mutiny.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Step aboard the Grampus, a whaleship gone adrift after a storm, rations running out and a violent mutiny, and learn what happened to its ghost whalers.
    — Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of mutiny
Noun
  • Within 36 hours one of the prisoners had an apparent mental breakdown, and on the second day the inmates staged a rebellion.
    — Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 21 Oct. 2026
  • In their utopian reconstruction of a mythic past, the Agrarians’ polemics failed to mention the South’s legacies of slavery and rebellion.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of rebellion

Browse Nearby Words

outbraving
outbreak
outbreaks
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Cite this Entry

“Outbreak.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/outbreak. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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