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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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 But cold outbreaks like this one will become more common as the Northern Hemisphere tips into the darker half of the year. — Tyler Ory, CNN Money, 13 Sep. 2026 At the peak of the outbreak, before the recall, more than 1,000 infections were reported in a single day. — Arkansas Online, 12 Sep. 2026 Party crashers Local health officials became alerted to the outbreak nine days after the event, when a 12-year-old boy was hospitalized for a skin infection. — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 11 Sep. 2026 At least five other outbreaks are still under investigation, according to the Food and Drug Administration's foodborne illness investigations page. — Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 11 Sep. 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
  • After a flurry of fall festival activity in Venice and Telluride, the curtain is coming down on another year at TIFF.
    — Marlow Stern, Variety, 16 Sep. 2026
  • But a flurry of new contracts in 2026 has two more coaches on par with Reid and another pair knocking at the door of $20 million, based on a half-dozen conversations with those familiar with NFL coaching contracts.
    — Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of flurry
Noun
  • The tax revolt was a successful attempt by a small group of ideologues to capitalize on people’s justifiable anger at the cost-of-living crisis that followed the war in Vietnam, along with California’s runaway home prices.
    — Maggie McGowan, The New York Review of Books, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Corbet issued a statement defending the AI use cases amid swelling online revolt.
    — Jake Angelo, semafor.com, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of revolt
Noun
  • That flexibility makes flow batteries particularly relevant to long-duration storage, where systems may need to deliver electricity for several hours rather than simply provide short bursts of backup power.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 12 Sep. 2026
  • Could Civale maybe be used in shorter bursts, meaning he could be used more often?
    — Sahadev Sharma, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of burst
Noun
  • Amendment is also a constitution’s mechanism for the prevention of insurrection.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 Sep. 2026
  • As Port falls in with a group of conspirators preparing for the insurrection, the book takes on a hallucinatory, digressive quality, blurring the lines between life and death, reality and illusion.
    — The New Yorker, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of insurrection
Noun
  • His dismissal wasn’t so much the result of one outburst or misstep, the person told The Times, but the culmination of a season’s worth of issues that boiled over in the wake of the Nebraska loss.
    — Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Tristan Peters fouled off 12 pitches in an 18-pitch at-bat that keyed Chicago's six-run outburst in the sixth inning and the White Sox beat the Cleveland Guardians 7-3 on Monday night to stay atop the AL Central.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of outburst
Noun
  • Suddenly, the humble farmer has incited a countrywide uprising.
    — Antonia Blyth, Deadline, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Following the Second World War, the United Kingdom had introduced a new National Service Act; in the early fifties, this often meant fighting in Korea, or battling an uprising against colonial rule in British Malaya, where Ascherson was deployed.
    — Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of uprising
Noun
  • Continue reading … PARTY FOUL — Jeffries threatens consequences after Dem mutiny helps move anti-socialism bill.
    — , FOXNews.com, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Critics wanted to throw a mutiny at the theater while watching the movie with a 48% Rotten Tomatoes grade.
    — Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of mutiny
Noun
  • Meanwhile, Yudkowsky took such tropes of rebellion and rule-breaking and built a philosophical apparatus around them.
    — Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2026
  • The Uprising’s final act does get unwieldy, as the director tries to show just how the rebellion was betrayed.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 11 Sep. 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 18 Sep. 2026.

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