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

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

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 Since the outbreak of the war in February, negotiations between Tehran and Washington have occurred largely through mediators. — Frank Andrews, CBS News, 28 Sep. 2026 There are infectious disease outbreaks that tear through the women’s asylum, pre-antibiotics and vaccines, but there is also Lucia Strangman, one of Europe’s first female doctors, who rises to these challenges and then some. — Robert Sullivan, Vogue, 26 Sep. 2026 However, the pace and scale of the emerging impact were far beyond our usual outbreak response. — Daniel Jernigan, STAT, 26 Sep. 2026 In that time, Gundlach Bundschu has survived a major pest outbreak, the San Francisco earthquake and fire, which destroyed one million gallons of wine and Prohibition. — Los Angeles Times, 25 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
  • OpenAI is holding its annual DevDay developer conference on Tuesday, where the artificial intelligence company is expected to showcase a flurry of new products and features.
    — Ashley Capoot,Kate Rooney,Chris Eudaily, CNBC, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Cliffs teeter at 1,640 feet, before tumbling down in a flurry of vineyards and walking trails to the rushing rivers and gorges of Sil and Miño.
    — Olivia Morelli, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of flurry
Noun
  • Moving pictures are part of the revolt Asco also had an interest in film.
    — Laura Zornosa, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026
  • His teeth desert his mouth; his digestion revolts; his heart appears frequently to announce its forthcoming resignation.
    — Zain Khalid, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of revolt
Noun
  • The laser accelerated electrons through a gas, directing them into a solid target to create light bursts that generated muon pairs.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 2 Oct. 2026
  • In bursts of bright stanzas, Chen Chen transports us through the landscape of his childhood into his early twenties.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Oct. 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
  • During the 1990s, mafia-style killings of public figures were a common occurrence in Bulgaria, but the latest outburst of violence has shocked the country, amid a heated campaign for presidential elections next month.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Behavioral therapies, which are standard in foster care settings, use punishments and rewards to get children to control outbursts, anger and other problematic behaviors.
    — Joseph Shapiro, NPR, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of outburst
Noun
  • Gómez Vergara’s documentary revisits Chile’s social uprising through a health brigade treating protesters injured by police repression, connecting present violence with dictatorship-era wounds.
    — Anna Marie de la Fuente, Variety, 29 Sep. 2026
  • From 1896 to 1897, the region experienced what would come to be known as the First Chimurenga, a period of uprisings by the Indigenous Ndebele and Shona people against colonial policies.
    — Chinatsu Tsuji, Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Sep. 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
  • To pair the piece with Celine’s more tailored pieces like the trousers and blouse added a tonal contrast that still executed on its luxury aesthetic, though with a touch of rebellion.
    — Julia Teti, Footwear News, 28 Sep. 2026
  • These layered styles exuded rebellion and were made famous around the globe by figures like Joan Jett.
    — María Diez, Glamour, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of rebellion

Browse Nearby Words

outbraving
outbreak
outbreaks
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Outbreak.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/outbreak. Accessed 5 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
name tags
Words Named After People Quiz Find out who’s behind "leotard," "morphine," an...
See All