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 For firefighters, escape routes can close without warning as fresh outbreaks appear beyond their crews and equipment. — Thomas Adamson, Los Angeles Times, 29 July 2026 If the outbreak had started at the lab, researchers argue cases would've spread out from there. — Rachel Carlson, NPR, 29 July 2026 Taco Bell will likely see the biggest sales impact from the outbreak, which began in late June. — ABC News, 29 July 2026 Kansas has now also been linked to the multistate outbreak caused by iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms, according to the CDC, joining Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma and West Virginia. — Joseph Hernandez, Kansas City Star, 29 July 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
  • Its results have sparked a flurry of activity as physicists try to determine whether the conflicting measurements are a side effect of different experimental procedures, or a sign that new particles are popping up after all.
    — Matt von Hippel, Quanta Magazine, 29 July 2026
  • The nine innings the Giants played that followed the furious flurry of medical updates didn’t do much to lift the vibes.
    — Justice delos Santos, Mercury News, 29 July 2026
Definition of flurry
Noun
  • His position is no different from that of his counterparts in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, other South Asian nations which also faced Gen Z revolts that saw the exit of the existing order.
    — Vasuki Shastry, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026
  • The decision led to a revolt by New Hampshire, which has a state law requiring it to hold the first primary, and penalties that kept Biden off the ballot in the state's primary.
    — Francesca Chambers, USA Today, 24 July 2026
Definition of revolt
Noun
  • Denver Post via Getty Images On the night of July 31st, 1976, Colorado's monsoon season unleashed a torrential burst of rain from a nearly stationary thunderstorms across the Big Thompson Canyon between Estes Park and Loveland.
    — Dave Aguilera, CBS News, 31 July 2026
  • The year the housing bubble burst, 860k American properties were repossessed.
    — HubSpot, HubSpot, 31 July 2026
Definition of burst
Noun
  • The disparities from slavery to Jim Crow continue to haunt Black life and have fueled Black insurrection.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 July 2026
  • Commentators such as Canadian journalist and filmmaker Paul Jay, founder and former CEO of The Real News Network, have described the 2021 insurrection as a dry run for future attempts to subvert American democracy.
    — James Robenalt, Vanity Fair, 27 July 2026
Definition of insurrection
Noun
  • He was ousted from Dior and his namesake fashion house in 2011 following racist and antisemitic outbursts at a Paris bar.
    — Miles Socha, Footwear News, 31 July 2026
  • Therapy that helped him make friends and control outbursts caused by Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has nearly disappeared, Garcia said.
    — Larry Seward, CBS News, 31 July 2026
Definition of outburst
Noun
  • Read in the context of the uprising that produced it, however, the decision illustrates how resource extraction, racialized labor and the expansion of federal power had become intertwined.
    — Edward D. Melillo, Fortune, 27 July 2026
  • In Kenya, veterans of the Mau Mau uprising won a settlement in which the British government would distribute £20 million in reparations to five thousand of their survivors.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 July 2026
Definition of uprising
Noun
  • For years, they have been stuck at sea with their leader, the great warrior king Odysseus (Matt Damon), trying to find a route home to Ithaca; hunger and desperation have spurred his fiery second-in-command, Eurylochus (Himesh Patel), toward mutiny.
    — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 17 July 2026
  • In the Black Jacobins, CLR James describes the slaves of a plantation sewing mutiny through poison.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 July 2026
Definition of mutiny
Noun
  • In April 2012, a coalition of Tuareg rebel groups under the Coordination of Azawad Movements declared independence and sparked a rebellion alongside Islamic militants.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 31 July 2026
  • Many employers double down on rigid return-to-office rules, surveillance and gimmicks, even as workers fight back with coffee badging, ghost bookings and other quiet rebellions.
    — Roger Vincent, Los Angeles Times, 30 July 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 2 Aug. 2026.

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