OUTBREAKS Synonyms: 59 Similar and Opposite Words

outbreaks

noun

plural of outbreak

as in flurries

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in insurrections

open fighting against authority (as one's own government) the government quelled the outbreak with ruthless efficiency

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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 outbreaks Last year, Texas suffered one of the state’s worst measles outbreaks in recent history. — Ciara McCarthy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Sep. 2026 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 Last month, Congo began vaccinating health and other front-line workers with the Ervebo vaccine that was effective in past Ebola outbreaks caused by a different, more common type called Zaire. — Jean-Yves Kamale, Arkansas Online, 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 Meanwhile, the region's healthcare system is already stretched thin, treating children with malnutrition and outbreaks of malaria or measles on a regular basis. — Durrie Bouscaren, NPR, 10 Sep. 2026 But aid workers in Haiti say that large outbreaks of gang violence, particularly massacres like the one in Kenscoff, a community in the hills above Port-au-Prince, are not uncommon. — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 9 Sep. 2026 Fortunately, advances in sanitation, hand hygiene and antibiotics have made large outbreaks like those that wagon trains and military camps experienced much less common, at least in the United States. — Elaine Reno, The Conversation, 8 Sep. 2026 The two Tuesday games in 2021 were games rescheduled due to COVID-19 outbreaks. — Jayna Bardahl, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for outbreaks

Noun

Chelsea spent long stretches of the first half in survival mode as Arsenal roared onto the front foot after that shock opener, conjuring furious flurries of pressure from open play and set pieces.

— Liam Twomey, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2026
Just as real snow flurries often do, this portrayal of that weather lifted my heart.

— Michael Joseph Gross, Travel + Leisure, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of flurries

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 bursts

Noun

Not since voters passed Proposition 13, an iconic property tax limit, in 1978 and touched off tax revolts in other states has a California measure potentially affected America’s taxation policies so broadly.

— Dan Walters, Mercury News, 27 Aug. 2026
Donor revolts—growing widespread skepticism toward higher education.

— Scott White, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026

Definition of revolts

Noun

But foreigners have also experienced sporadic outbursts of xenophobic violence.

— ABC News, ABC News, 11 Sep. 2026
If the lighting is controlled, the performances restrained (with room for outbursts, of course), and the score swelling at the right moments, the work will register as important.

— Henry Metz, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of outbursts

Noun

When popular uprisings swept the Arab world in the early 2010s, protesters in Tunisia, Egypt, Syria, Bahrain, and elsewhere in the region took to the streets not in the name of Islam, but democracy.

— Faisal Devji, Time, 11 Sep. 2026
At that time, the murder of George Floyd dominated headlines and Rusnak had read an article about Stacy’s killing in the wake of the racial uprisings in the aftermath of Floyd’s death.

— Raisa Habersham, Miami Herald, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of uprisings

Noun

Before, the two forces had been allies, working together to crush rebellions in Darfur, but also pro-democracy movements that sprung up after the ouster of Sudanese dictator Omar Al-Bashir in 2019.

— Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026
Throughout this season, Camille and her conversations with The Algorithm make mention of other rebellions.

— Hunter Ingram, Variety, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of rebellions

Noun

That mobility occasionally allowed for communication and coordination during mutinies.

— Ed Gaskin, Boston Herald, 8 Mar. 2026
This includes leader assassination attempts by political opponents or lone wolves or mutinies by disgruntled soldiers who might even march on the presidential palace to demand higher pay, promotions or other policy concessions.

— John Joseph Chin, The Conversation, 16 Oct. 2025

Definition of mutinies

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“Outbreaks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/outbreaks. Accessed 19 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of outbreaks

noun

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